Silent Sufferer
by cruiz107
Summary: Edward's excited when he learns that Bella is moving back to town. However, he quickly learns that one year can change someone so much. AH. EPOV
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Story is beta'd by the wonderful ADT216 and EdnaSardrood.**

**All things Twilight belong to SM.**

**Enjoy!**

"Did you hear that Bella is coming back?" Alice asked from the back seat of my Volvo. I could feel my heart rate accelerating and my grip tighten on the steering wheel, but I tried to keep a cool demeanour while others were present. I didn't want them to know how Alice's news was affecting me. How _she_ still affected me.

My brother, Emmett, was sitting in the front seat next to me, while our sister, Alice, was sitting in the back. We were actually triplets, with Emmett being the youngest and Alice being the oldest.

Their significant others, Rosalie and Jasper, were squeezed in the back next to Alice. We were on our way to Black's Auto Repair in La Push to pick up Emmett's Jeep. He could have had it repaired in the shop back in Forks, but he claimed that the garage there made their profit from ripping people off. After he gave me both estimates for the transmission repair, I had to agree that Black's offer was the best deal. It was almost a steal for the work that had to be done.

While his car was in the shop, I was somehow coerced into being his chauffer since Rosalie couldn't. She had managed to get her driver's license suspended for getting too many speeding tickets. I liked to drive fast myself, but I liked to think that I did it the smart way. When she asked me what the smart way was, I told her that I just never got caught and shrugged, not really knowing what the smart way was myself.

"Back, like in back to Forks High School?" Emmett asked, turning his massive body around to look at Alice.

"I'm not positive, considering that Mike was the source, but I think she's coming back to complete her senior year here," Alice answered.

"So what you're saying is that our lil' Eddie here has another shot to make Bella swoon?" Emmett laughed while punching me hard on the shoulder.

"Firstly, I'm older than you by seven minutes, so you're the little one. Secondly, I hate that fucking name. And thirdly, what makes you think that I still like Bella?" I responded, trying to scowl at Emmett and keep my eyes on the road at the same time. I was hoping that everyone had forgotten how bad I had it for her.

"Everyone knows you still get a hard on for her," Rosalie added out of nowhere.

I glared at her from the rear-view mirror, but her lack of response indicated that she wasn't looking.

I have had a crush on Bella Swan from the moment we moved here. My family had moved to Forks back when we were in the fifth grade, which was when I met her. She was smart but not arrogant. We didn't talk much, but when we did it was pleasant.

As we all grew up and came into our own, my crush on her only deepened. Over the years, I had come to appreciate her large, brown, doe eyes and the soft waves of her hair. It wasn't until entering high school that I began to notice the curves that she had developed while I wasn't paying attention to anything but her face. She had truly become a beautiful girl.

It seemed that I wasn't the only one who realized that she had indeed turned from an awkward duck into a beautiful swan. While I had never worked up the courage to ask her out, I had watched as boy after boy strived to get her attention. Because my jealousy and insecurities flared during those moments, I never stuck around to find out if she had accepted their advances or not. The only thing that placated me was that I had never seen her hang out with one guy more than another, so it never seemed like she had a boyfriend.

In high school, we didn't run with the same crowd. The fortunate thing about Forks High, though, was that there were no definable "popular" or "unpopular" groups; there were just the people you hung out with more than others. However, there were certain people that could be classified as bitchy or jerks.

Bella mostly hung out with her two best friends, Jessica Stanley and Tanya Denali. They both seemed like pretty nice girls, although I didn't know them well enough to make an honest judgment. However, Bella liked to mingle, so she could be seen chatting with anyone. Actually, in retrospect, I realized that she was a lot like Alice – friendly to a fault. How the two never became close, I'll never know.

I mostly stuck with Alice and Emmett, and now Jasper and Rosalie. Bella and I had shared a few classes the two years we had spent in high school together, but never got the opportunity to really get to know each other. She had left at the end of sophomore year and moved to Port Angeles. The story was that her mother, Renee, had been offered a lucrative position in some law firm. Her father, Charlie, who worked at the lumber yard, had found a similar position to the one he already had so he could make the move too, without having to commute back to Forks every day.

Also making the move with them was Jacob, Bella's younger, adopted brother. I wasn't big on gossip, but Jacob's story was pretty big news in Forks, though it took place in La Push towards the end of freshman year. Jacob's parents, Billy and Sarah, had both been murdered during a home invasion by a fellow tribe member. Billy Black was the tribe's chief. His younger brother, Sam, was apparently extremely jealous of Billy and his title. Sam entered the Black's house one night and murdered both Billy and Sarah, on the hopes of becoming the next chief. Jacob was spending the night at a friend's when his parents were murdered. I really didn't pay attention to the story after that, so I wasn't exactly sure what had happened to Sam, but I did know that he hadn't become chief and the garage was renamed in honor of their slain leader.

I assumed that Bella's and Jacob's families were close, since the Blacks had left Jacob in the Swan's care. Supposedly, when Jacob was born, Sarah asked Renee if she could have one of her colleagues write up a will for the sole purpose of establishing who would take care of Jacob if neither of them were around. When Jacob went into the care of the Swans he was six years old. He should be around eight or so now. However, I couldn't vouch for the truth of the story since most of it was told through the grapevine.

I was heartbroken when I found out that her family was moving. Because we weren't close, it would have been weird to ask her for her number, or to even keep in contact. I would have loved to asked Jessica or Tanya for that information, but that would have been even creepier and stalkerish. To this day, I wanted to kick myself for never manning up and asking her out, or even getting to know her better. Hopefully, this would, in fact, be my second chance.

"What we should do is ask Jessica when we get back. She's been working at the diner this summer. If anyone would know what the story is, it would be her," Jasper interjected. He would never admit it, but Jasper was like an old lady; he loved to hear gossip, although he never spread it himself.

"What about Tanya? She would know," I added nonchalantly, hoping no one caught on to how prematurely excited I was becoming at the thought of seeing Bella again.

"Nah, Tanya went to Holland to spend some time with her grandmother this summer. I don't think she would know what's going on," Alice informed me.

The last few minutes of the ride were spent talking about why Bella was coming back for just one year of high school, instead of just finishing it in Port Angeles. I listened to them talk but never voiced my own thoughts. I didn't care why she was coming back; I was just ecstatic that she was coming back at all.

She had only been gone for about a year, but I still wondered if she had changed much or at all. I hoped that she was still the same Bella that I had a crush on when she left. I didn't know what I would do if she came back differently. I never admitted this to anyone, even though they probably knew, but the reason why I could never keep a steady girlfriend was because I compared them all to Bella, a girl that I only had a handful of conversations with and admired from afar.

~~O~~

We were on our way back to Forks, more specifically the diner. Things went a lot better than Emmett thought that they were going to go when we got the garage.

When we arrived there, it was basically empty with the exception of other waiting customers. After having to wait only a few minutes, the owner of Black's, Quil, came out to talk to Emmett, telling him he had knocked off the labor portion of the bill. Quil had explained that last Sunday, he had to take his young daughter, Emily, to Forks Memorial Hospital for an emergency appendectomy. Our father, Carlisle, works there as chief of surgery. Because there was no one else available, and there wasn't enough time to transfer Emily to another hospital, Carlisle was called in to perform the surgery on his only day off.

Quil had been extremely grateful, understanding how it felt to go days, or even weeks, without having a day off. Since he could only offer his own services as a mechanic to show his gratitude, aside from paying his bill of course, he told Carlisle that he would work on Carlisle's car free of charge. When Carlisle found out that he owned the very shop where Emmett's car was getting repaired, he asked Quil if he could help his son out in exchange.

Emmett walked out of the garage saving almost six hundred dollars.

Pulling into the diner, I felt my nervousness creep up on me, and I had no idea why. Well, I did, but it didn't make any sense. Alice was resolved to ask Jessica if Bella was indeed coming back to Forks. However, we didn't even know if Jessica was working today, or if the story was even true. There was no reason for my anxiety.

We grabbed a booth in the corner, and Alice quickly began searching the restaurant for Jessica. She couldn't immediately find her, and I don't know whether it relieved me or disappointed me.

After continuing to search, and coming up unsuccessful, we concluded that Jessica wasn't working today. Almost an hour later, with our meals finished, we exited the diner. As we slowly walked over to our cars, Jessica pulled into an empty spot. I quickly stiffened at the sight of her and hoped that we were going to just continue on our way and not even bother asking Jessica if she knew anything. However, Alice, with a little encouragement from Jasper, headed towards Jessica instead of to my car. Jasper followed eagerly, while I followed to hear for myself. Emmett and Rosalie, seemingly the only smart ones, got into Emmett's Jeep, presumably heading to our house.

"Hey, Jess," she greeted her before Jessica got too far away.

"Oh hey, Alice. What's going on?" Jessica asked when she realized who was talking to her. She waved to Jasper and me in greeting

"Nothing much, just getting ready to start school again for the last time. So I heard that Bella is coming back, is that true?" Alice asked, cutting to the chase quickly.

Although, I was still undecided whether or not I wanted to hear the news, I couldn't take my eyes off of Jessica, waiting to hear her response. However, I was shocked at what I saw before she even spoke.

At the mention of Bella's name, Jessica's eyes widened and darted around, as if looking for something to hide behind. It seemed that talking about Bella made her uncomfortable, which was extremely odd. After a few seconds, Jessica seemed to compose herself and plaster a fake smile on her face.

"Um, actually, yeah, she is coming back," Jessica finally confirmed, still looking a little uncomfortable.

"Not that I'm not excited about it, but why is she coming back with only one year left?" Alice continued with her questions.

Jessica steeled her eyes and fixed them on Alice before spewing out her answer.

"Her parents got divorced. Her father is getting his old job back here and she is coming to live with him."

"What about Jacob?" Alice asked.

"I'm not completely sure. Now I gotta go punch in before I'm late," she said before abruptly turning and leaving.

Jasper and Alice both turned to me, looking completely confused and hoping for some kind of clarification. I just shrugged my shoulders before turning and heading back to my car, just as confused as the both of them.

"That was kind of weird, don't you think? Her response seemed… robotic," Alice said as we were walking into the kitchen.

"What was?" Rosalie asked, stepping out of the pantry carrying a huge bag of pretzels.

"Jessica," Alice said, before telling Rosalie about the brief encounter with Jessica outside the diner.

"I don't get it," Emmett chimed in after Alice stopped talking. "What was so weird about it? People get divorced all the time."

"Not the divorcing part, although that part sucks, but her answer seemed, I dunno, rehearsed or something, like she's been practicing it. There was also the whole situation with Bella's brother," she answered, still looking perplexed.

"That doesn't make sense, Alice," Rosalie said. "What you're implying is that Jessica is covering something up about Bella's return. I doubt there is any mystery behind it," she said, sounding bored and ready to move on to the next topic of conversation.

"She and Tanya were Bella's best friends and probably still are. Jessica is probably still shocked at the news of the divorce and maybe still processing it herself. I'm assuming that she was close to Bella's family, too," I offered, trying to make sense of Jessica's odd reaction earlier.

Alice seemed to be thinking over what I just said.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, seeming appeased at the moment. "Besides, school starts in a little less than two weeks, and we can always ask Bella herself how things are going," she finished.

I didn't like the idea of Alice, or anyone, approaching Bella and inquiring about her personal life. If her parents were divorced, I'm sure it was something that she didn't want to talk about, especially to people who really couldn't be considered anything more than acquaintances.

"This is our first day our last year of high school," Emmett squealed, frightening sounding a lot like Alice, while jumping on my bed to wake me up.

I looked over at my alarm clock and saw that I still had a good half hour before it was set to go off. It always felt good to turn around and see that you had extra time to sleep in the morning, but I knew that with Emmett bouncing on my bed, sleeping was no longer an option.

"Why the hell are you even up so early? And why the hell are you so excited to going to school?" I asked, extremely agitated that I was woken up early. My throat was dry and now scratchy from having to scold Emmett.

"I've always liked the first day of school; it's like one of the few days you can't take seriously. You get to reconnect with friends that you lost contact with over the summer and get to check out the fresh meat. Classes are going to be a joke today since all the teachers are going to be doing is handing out syllabi and explaining the same rules that they reiterate every fucking year. The best part, though, is that we're seniors this year," Emmett shouted out the last part.

I couldn't partake in his excitement, since I was still more than half asleep. Instead, I covered my head with my pillow, groaned, and rolled over, hoping that I would somehow disappear and get back the few minutes that Emmett had stolen from me.

I had gone to sleep a lot later than I wanted to last night. I stayed awake in my bed thinking about Bella and what I would say to her when I finally saw her. I didn't know which tactic was best; should I just walk up to her and welcome her back? Should I strike up a conversation, acting like she had never left? Do I reintroduce myself? I felt like I was back to that awkward kid that I was when I first started high school. Unbeknownst to her, Bella was the only girl who made me feel like that.

"C'mon, E, don't be like that. Don't think that I don't know how anxious you are to see Bella again after a year," he added, before getting off of my bed. I heard the amusement clearly in his voice.

"Fuck off," I mumbled from underneath my pillow, unsure if he even understood what I said. The laughter that rang out from his direction indicated that he had.

"You better be up by the time we're ready to leave. All of us are all riding together, save on gas, help the earth, and all that green stuff that's popular these days," he babbled on his way out the door.

A little over an hour later, the three of us, plus Jasper and Rosalie, were pulling into the parking lot of our tiny high school.

From what I could tell from the people that I could see, no one had changed much. Granted, we were only gone for a couple of months.

I searched the parking lot hoping to spot Bella, hoping to appear discreet. At the end of her last year here, her parents bought her an old Corolla as a starter car since she was still a new driver. I had no idea if she still drove that ugly car or if she had upgraded to something that was built in at least the last decade.

As I continued to search, I spotted a vehicle that was even worse looking than Bella's old Corolla. Almost completely hidden under the shade of the immense trees and overgrown shrubs, was an ancient and decrepit looking, rusty red Chevy pickup. Because of the shade that the trees provided, I couldn't make out who was seated in the truck. My eyes began to ache from straining them, looking to see if I recognized the poor soul forced to drive the death trap. Right as I was about to give up, the truck's driver side door slowly wrenched opened, one leg and then the other stepping out onto the ground.

Suddenly, I was looking straight at Bella. Although she wasn't looking back at me, I could still tell that it was her. Her hair still looked the same as I remembered it, perhaps longer. Her body was still slim, yet curvaceous. And even though I couldn't smell her from so far away, I could still remember the vanilla scent that seemed to waft around her.

"Hey, E, c'mon, we gotta get to homeroom to get our schedules," Emmett yelled, breaking me out of my blatant staring.

I turned and noticed that everyone had already started walking toward the building, not bothering to even wait for me. I jogged the short distance between me and everyone to catch up with them. Alice slowed her pace when I was finally right behind them, hanging back.

"Was that her?" she asked.

"Who?" I decided to play dumb. Although I'm sure everyone knew that I still had a massive crush, bordering on obsession, on Bella, I still didn't want to confirm what they already knew. At least not yet.

"You know who," she said, calling me out. "The girl you were staring at across the lot. It had to be her based on the small amount of drool that is pooled at the corner of your mouth," Alice laughed.

"Shut up," I said, shoving her playfully with my shoulder. "I'm not drooling. But yeah, it was her," I confirmed.

"Are you going to ask her out this year?" She looked at me, quirking an eyebrow questioningly.

"If I work up the nerve, then yes, I will," I told her, albeit not very confidently.

Thinking about asking her out was one of the things that had kept me up last night. I went back and forth in my mind about whether or not I would, or even could, get the guts to finally ask her out this year. I had to do it this year as it would probably be my last chance. I didn't know what her plans for college were, or if she even planned on going at all. I was still undecided about where I wanted to go, so she could be in the same boat. The chances of us ending up at the same college were probably slim.

Alice didn't respond verbally, but nodded approvingly as we continued toward the building. She didn't have to say it, but I knew that the thought of Bella hanging around us excited her. For whatever reason, Alice believed that the two of them could become great friends.

~~O~~

Because of our last names, Emmett, Alice, and I had different homerooms than Rosalie and Jasper. We wouldn't be able to compare schedules with them until lunch, the only guaranteed period we all shared together. Aside from lunch, I noticed, after comparing our schedules ,the three of us also had biology together,. I had yet to determine if that was a good thing or a bad thing, considering that they were both horrible when it came to the sciences.

We all parted ways to make it to our first period classes. When I looked up from my schedule, to find out which room I was supposed to go to, I noticed that Bella was walking a few feet in front of me, seemingly heading for the same class as me. I instantly became nervous. I was determined to talk to her, but I thought that I would have more time to psych myself for it. Luckily, I saw that she was wearing her ear buds. I figured that gave me an excuse not to approach her just yet.

When I entered the room, it was already more than half way filled with students; a lot of them didn't seem happy to be there. There was an empty seat to the right of Bella. Although I wasn't ready to talk to her, I wasn't going to [ass up the opportunity to sit next to her. On my way over, I saw that there were other people looking at her and whispering. None of them probably knew about her coming back, either. She wasn't really new, but her coming back still caused some gossip. As I passed some students I overheard some of the things being said about her, fairly rude things. It didn't make sense; she was well liked when she attended here a year ago. How could these people talk badly about her when she hadn't really been gone that long at all?

She still hadn't taken off her ear buds as the teacher entered the room. However, because she had such long hair, they were easily hidden, along with the rest of her face. The teacher began roll call, making sure that everyone who was in the class was accounted for. She called someone whose last name was Stach, and I assumed Bella's name would be next. And it was. However, she didn't hear when her name was called.

"Isabella Swan?" the teacher called again, looking around for someone to claim the name.

When Bella didn't make a move to answer, I tapped her on her shoulder. I thought that she would have been startled, seeing as she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. On the contrary though, she looked at me as if she was expecting someone to call her to attention.

And the look she gave me. It was kind of startling. Her eyes weren't full of life like the way I remembered. Looking into her eyes, as she seemed to be looking into mine, I saw… nothing. They were just glazed over.

As I felt myself grow uncomfortable looking at her, and her looking at me, I nodded my head to the front of the room towards the teacher. Bella looked at me for a second longer and then turned toward the teacher. The look she gave the teacher seemed intense but vacant at the same time.

"Are you Isabella Swan?" the teacher asked Bella.

Instead of answering yes, Bella simply nodded and continued to look as if she was waiting for something else to be said.

"Of course. I was told about you," the teacher said to no one in particular. She picked up her roll call sheet, a pencil, and made some kind of note on it. Her eyebrows furrowed as she continued to write.

The whole exchange between them was very odd. Bella didn't bother to utter one word to her, not even after the small comment that was made. The teacher accepted her silence as if it was nothing peculiar. If it was another teacher, any other teacher, I'm sure that they would have become frustrated with her already, if not with her silence, than with the fact that she was blatantly not paying attention on the first day and first hour of class.

The rest of the class went on. The teacher finished the roll call and began explaining what would be covered in the class and what was expected of everyone. I tried paying attention, but I couldn't stop thinking of Bella's odd behavior. She was not the Bella that I knew from a little over a year ago, I could already tell.

Aside from Jessica and Tanya, I wasn't so sure who Bella considered to be her friends since I saw her talking to a lot of the student body over the years. There were even some people sitting in the room with us now that I had seen her talk with before. If this was a year ago, I'm sure she would have made conversation with anyone in here, probably me included. She was friendly and outgoing. However, now... she was just there.

When I was finally ready to put the thoughts of Bella to bed, the bell rang. While everyone practically jumped from their seats, I was slow to get up, as was Bella. As I made a show of gathering my few belongings off my desk, I watched her out of the corner of my eye. At first she wasn't making any effort to leave the classroom. If the bell wasn't so loud, I would have thought that maybe she hadn't even heard it. And even if that was the case, there were only a couple of students left in the room, so she had to have known that the bell had rung.

I had to go. I was taking way too long leaving, seeing as I only had to shove my notebook and pen in my book bag. I saw her finally get up to leave when I was about to step out of the room and into the hallway. Before she completely disappeared from sight, I took a glance at her once again. She must have sensed my presence, because she looked up from the floor and stared right into my eyes as I looked into hers. Still, her eyes looked empty. Not wanting to become uncomfortable again, I quickly looked away and continued to my next class.

~~O~~

I was the first to make it to the lunch room and sat at the table that my friends and I had been occupying since freshman year. The sense of familiarity was a nice feeling, a distraction from the one thought that had been on repeat in my head all morning.

Bella.

I couldn't get her haunting look out of my head. She hadn't given me much to think about, since we hadn't really interacted except for a few silent seconds, but it was still enough to have left me feeling completely clueless and confused.

I sat in the seat closest to the window and just looked around the crowded cafeteria. Although it was the first day of school, there was still an excited charge in the air. People were catching up with friends that they hadn't seen during the summer, retelling the tales of their summer adventures.

I continued scanning the crowd, hoping that I found the set of brown eyes that I was looking for. I hadn't noticed that someone approached me until I heard the chair scrape against the floor next to me.

"She's on the lunch line," Rosalie said as she tossed her bag on the table.

I looked at her confused while she grabbed a smaller brown bag out of her massive purse.

"Who?" I asked, knowing exactly who she was talking about. What I couldn't figure out though was how she knew I was searching the room for her.

"Bella, but you knew that already," she answered, finally looking at me, smirking.

"Whatever," I mumbled, not even bothering to come up with some smart remark. I had been caught so there was no point in denying it.

"Have you had any classes with her?" I asked Rosalie, just as everyone else joined us at the table donning lunch trays.

"Class with who?" Jasper asked, popping the top on his can of soda.

"Bella. Did any of you guys have class with her this morning?" I repeated the question.

"I had math with her. She was late, though," Emmett responded, smothering his fries with ketchup.

"How was she? Like was she talking to a lot of people, or was she keeping to herself, what?" I know I sounded desperate, but I was extremely curious. Maybe she was just tired during first period. That was a reasonable explanation for her behavior, or lack thereof.

"I dunno, kinda quiet I guess. I wasn't really paying attention to her, but I didn't see her talking to anyone. Why, is lil' Eddie jealous already?" Emmett said teasingly, stuffing his mouth with the dry burger that the school served.

"No, dick," I said, shoving him and causing him to choke and laugh at the same time. "I had English with her first period, and she was acting kind of weird. She wasn't talking and she had this weird look in her eyes."

"Maybe she was just tired," Alice spoke, voicing my earlier thoughts.

I turned my eyes back to the crowded room. Bella should have gotten off the line by now and sat at a table. Continuing my search, I finally found her sitting a few tables away with Jessica. Bella only had an apple and a red water bottle in front of her on the table, not much at all.

Jessica was talking excitedly while flaring her arms in the air. Bella sat there, intently listening and not offering her own input. I watched for a few minutes, but the scene never changed. Bella never talked. After a few more minutes of looking at the two girls, Bella eyes shifted off of Jessica and seemed to zero in on me.

Again, she looked at me lifelessly. Actually, it appeared like she was looking at me, but through me at the same time. This time, instead of looking away, my gaze stayed locked with hers. I refused to be the one who turned away first. I wasn't sure how long we stayed in this staring match, but eventually, she was the one to break the spell and look back to her lunch companion. Jessica looked behind her, probably trying to figure out what was distracting Bella. When she saw me looking at their table, Jessica narrowed her eyes at me. She looked pissed. Why? I had no idea.

I decided to focus my attention back on my own table when I felt myself getting a headache from trying to figure out what Bella's deal was from thirty feet away. I heard the tail end of the conversation that was going on around me. It turned out that all five of us had biology together the next period. I listened as the talking continued, only offering my input when asked.

~~O~~

We entered the biology classroom early at the request of Alice, hoping to find desirable seats that we would be able to keep throughout the year. Surprisingly, we were not the first to enter. Sitting at the last table at the back of the room was Bella. I hadn't even noticed that she left the cafeteria before we did.

"C'mon, we should go say hi and welcome her back," Alice said. She grabbed Jasper's hand, tugging him along, as the rest of us followed behind them. I thought that when the time came for me to approach Bella, I would be alone. However, I figured with the weirdness of the morning, it was a good idea to have them interact with her too. This way, I could figure out if maybe I was just being paranoid or if she really was just tired this morning.

As we made our way over to her, she looked at us, never letting her eyes veer anywhere else. I didn't know if anyone else saw, but she still had that look in her eyes.

"Hey, Bella. Welcome back to Forks," Alice greeted excitedly, expecting some kind of verbal form of communication from Bella.

Nothing.

Bella just stared at Alice, like she hadn't even heard her speaking directly to her. Bella hadn't even bothered to crack a small, friendly smile. She just stared blankly, frighteningly.

I chanced a glance at Alice and noticed she looked a little hurt by Bella's lack of response. But just like the Alice that I knew, she plastered a smile on her face again and made another attempt.

"So what are your classes like?" she asked in an earnest attempt to get Bella to respond.

Nothing.

At this point, I knew that I wasn't being paranoid this morning. Something was definitely different about Bella. The old Bella would have happily answered Alice when she said hi. This Bella was actually kind of creepy with the way that she just stared.

"Cat got your tongue?" Rosalie asked. She was annoyed and probably pissed that Bella was obviously ignoring not only Alice, but us as well.

Bella didn't even bother looking at Rosalie when she said that. She seemed to be looking at all of us, but none of us at the same time. Like I said, I was starting to find her act kind of creepy, and frankly, extremely rude.

"Whatever," Rosalie muttered as she turned to find an empty table. Everyone, including myself, turned and followed her. I occupied the empty seat next to Angela Webber.

Everyone talked to each other, still catching up, until Mr. Banner walked into class and called for order. I looked over my shoulder towards Bella. The seat next to her remained empty. Suddenly, Ben Cheney ran into class late and took the only empty seat, the seat next to Bella.

I was a little, or actually, a lot jealous. Even though she was acting weird, that didn't mean that I still didn't want to get to know her. One weird day couldn't erase the feelings that I'd had for her all these years, after all. However, it did make me feel a little better when Bella didn't acknowledge him either when he said hi to her.

There was definitely something wrong with Bella. She was just too different from when she left. I was determined to find out. I just hoped that whatever I found out wasn't as messed up as the scenarios my mind was currently coming up with.

**AN: ...so this is the new story. Love it? Hate it? Let me know with a review. I also have another story up, Fighting Our Fate, which I started to distract me from this one when I was having a hard time with chapter 4. It's ****a vamp fic that will be going unbeta'd that could use some serious loving. Til next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Sorry for the delay in updating. One of my betas was on vacay. Thanks to Edna and ADT216 for beta'ing this chapter.**

**All things Twilight belong to SM.**

The rest of the school day passed slowly, basically exactly how I expected it to pass. As much as I tried, I just couldn't stop thinking about Bella and the strange way she was acting. It would have been one thing if she had always seemed to be this cold, uncaring person, but she hadn't. It was extremely rude the way that she completely disregarded my sister in class. Although I would admit that I liked her if asked, I was still pissed at her blatant rejection of us.

We were gathered around the benches outside the school building. The first day back was finally over, and we were trying to decide what our plans would be for the rest of the day. We had been at it for about ten minutes and getting nowhere. We couldn't come to an agreement on something to do. Finally tiring of Rosalie and Emmett's bickering back and forth on where to eat, I zoned out and began taking in the people around me. It was actually a nice day out, so no one was in a rush to get home.

While continuing to ignore my brother and his girlfriend, I saw Bella exit the school building and walk toward the parking lot. She stopped suddenly and stuck her hand into her jacket pocket. She dug out her phone and looked down at its screen. She smiled brightly down at whomever texted her.

Seeing her smile, the smile that I was familiar with and had waited all day to see, didn't make me feel the way I thought it would. While I was glad to see her smile at least once today, I was a little jealous that it was someone else who made her smile. I wasn't a moron, though. Bella didn't really know me so it wasn't hard to believe that she wasn't gushing to talk to me. However, she hadn't even given me the chance.

On the flip side of things, _I_ also didn't know Bella. She had a whole life while she was gone that I didn't know anything about, although I also didn't know much about the one she had when she was in Forks. She could have met a guy in Port Angeles. It would actually explain a lot if that were the case. She could be missing him right now, which would explain why she seemed almost lifeless. It could have been that she didn't want to talk to anyone because she didn't want to reveal how sad she was, even though I highly doubted _that_ was the reason she ignored Alice's attempts at conversation.

If that truly was the case, then it truly sucked, but it was understandable. I would have to ask Jessica the next time I saw her.

Bella was still looking down at her phone, but this time she was typing something. She never stopped smiling for the few seconds I remained looking at her. Once she finished typing she continued to her car, her smile not disappearing.

"So she can smile," I heard Rosalie's voice say from behind me. I turned, noticing that everyone seemed to be looking in Bella's direction, too. It seemed that in the little while that I had been observing Bella that their conversation had come to a close. Most likely, Emmett had given into Rose like he always did. Without me realizing it, they had all joined me in watching Bella as if she was some animal on the National Geographic channel.

"And people say that I'm rude," Rosalie continued. "At least I have a reason to be a bitch. What the hell did anyone to do her? It's her first damn day back."

"And what, exactly, is the reason behind your bitchiness?" I asked defensively. I don't know why, but I didn't like the way she was talking about Bella, even if she _did_ have reason to.

"Because people annoy me," she responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Bella was kinda messed up this afternoon," Emmett said, probably trying to clarify his girlfriend's point.

"There has to be something up," I said more to myself, even though I'm sure they heard me.

"I'll tell you what's up. She moved to Port Angeles, came back, and now she thinks she's better than everyone," Rosalie added, disgust in her voice. She was starting to get on my nerves now. I would have said something, but it was stupid to get into an argument about it. I didn't even know Bella, not really anyway. Besides that, Rosalie could have been right for all I knew – Bella could have become a bitch during the short time she was gone.

Deciding I had enough of trying to dissect Bella at the moment, I stood up off the bench and started walking to my car. Dissecting her further could be left until tomorrow.

SS

The next morning I woke up feeling like crap. I barely got any sleep being that last night was like the one before. I couldn't shut my brain down because all things Bella made a home in my thoughts. I must have psyched myself out worse than I imagined with the thought of her having a boyfriend, because when I finally did fall asleep all I dreamt about was her with different guys. Because I had no idea what her type was, my dream consisted of a revolving door of guys making out with Bella.

Going through my morning routine slowly, it occurred to me that I actually didn't know her type. Maybe that was why she never showed interest in the guys at our school. Maybe she was the type of girl that was into guys with tattoos and piercings, something Forks High was lacking. Or, she could be into the older type, preferring college students to high school ones. Or even worse, or better depending on whom you asked, she was a lesbian. I had nothing against homosexuals, but I _really_ hoped she wasn't one. Although…it would be hot to see her kiss another girl!

I met Alice and Emmett in the kitchen ten minutes before we were supposed to leave. Because I didn't feel awake enough to drive, one of them could drive today. I sat on a stool, my head resting on my arms that were on top of the breakfast bar.

"Someone needs a nap already?" Emmett joked before downing the rest of his orange juice.

I grunted in response, too tired to form a real sentence. A nap sounded awesome.

"Do you plan on trying again with Bella? Maybe this time she'll give you her other cold shoulder, then maybe you can use them to shake some sense into her," he said, laughing at his own stupid idea of a joke.

"Maybe she was just having an off day," Alice added her input lamely. She didn't seem to believe her own words, and frankly, neither did I.

"Yeah, maybe," I added, lacking just as much truth in my words as Alice did. "Let's just go."

We gathered our belongings and piled into Emmett's car. In typical Emmett fashion, he put the volume of the stereo up much too high for the early morning hour. Usually, it would have annoyed the shit out of me, but today it helped me wake up. It also allowed me quiet time from their talking, but at the same time, trapping me in my own miserable thoughts for a little while longer.

Immediately after climbing out of the car when we reached the school, I began scanning the parking lot for the rusty looking truck. I found it resting in the same space that it took up yesterday. However, unlike yesterday, Bella was already sitting on the hood of the truck, book in hand. Like yesterday, she wasn't smiling, but I wouldn't say she was frowning either.

I let my gaze linger on Bella a little longer before I noticed an annoyed looking Jessica heading in our direction.

"Hey, Jess," Alice greeted her once she was standing in front of us. "Where's Tanya? I didn't see her yesterday."

"She's staying in Holland, actually. She met someone over the summer and decided to live with her grandmother," Jessica told us, sounding sad despite the angry look on her face.

"Look, the reason I came over here is to just tell you guys not to bother trying to talk to Bella. She won't answer you back, so just leave her alone," Jessica continued.

"Why? What did we do to her?" Jasper asked. I was glad that he asked because that was my question, too. It looked less suspicious that he asked, though.

"None of you did anything wrong; it's nothing personal. She just doesn't talk to anyone." The angry look on Jessica's face morphed into one of sadness. Obviously, whatever was wrong with Bella upset Jessica.

"At least it's good to know that she's not just being a bitch," Rosalie added in her oh-so-ladylike manner.

"I know she's probably coming off that way, but trust me, it's not the case. She's still adjusting to…stuff." It was clear that she had to reconsider her last words. There was something, or maybe a lot of things, that Jessica wasn't telling us. She was probably just trying to protect her friend, and I could respect that. It didn't mean that I wasn't dying to know, though.

SS

I was both excited for and dreading first period. Stupidly, I was excited to see Bella again. I knew that Jessica had basically told us to back off, but I was hoping the little information that I had found out would help when I saw her again. I didn't know how it could, but I still hoped.

On the other hand, I knew that most likely things today would not be much different from yesterday. Even though I knew that Bella didn't talk to anyone, except maybe Jessica, it was still hard for me to not take it personally. I knew I was being dumb, and probably self-centered, but I couldn't help it. This year was supposed to be the year that I stepped out of my comfort zone and really _talked_ to Bella.

Again, Bella was sitting in the same desk she occupied yesterday, so I did the same and sat beside her. Because I was focused so hard on her, it didn't go unnoticed by me that she shifted her eyes in my direction when I sat down. The small act of insignificant acknowledgment stirred something in me, making me suddenly feel brave.

"Hi, Bella," I said, looking at her. She continued to look straight ahead as if she hadn't heard me.

"Hi, Bella," I tried again. Still nothing.

Like I did the day before, I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. When she finally turned to look at me, I tried for a third time.

"Hey, Bella." Instead of looking at my eyes, she had turned her eyes to look down my face, stopping at around my mouth. As if on instinct, I licked my lips. I was feeling self conscious with her blatant staring of my lips.

Immediately, Bella's eyes flew back up to mine. I thought that maybe she would have felt embarrassed at being caught staring at me, but no. Nothing in her facial expression indicated that she felt even infinitesimally bad. On the contrary, she looked at me as if I was the one caught staring. Aside from the slightly annoyed look on her face, she looked just as lifeless as she did yesterday.

Bella turned back in her seat, looking straight forward, without even bother to say hi back. I shouldn't have been surprised that she didn't say anything back. However, I still couldn't help feel disappointed that my attempt had failed. Following suit, I turned forward in my own seat; I gave up trying to get Bella to say something to me.

After getting the class to settle down, the teacher started explaining the first novel we were expected to read for the class. She began asking the class random questions that somehow pertained to the book that we were to begin reading that night.

"Bella," Ms. Maher said, effectively getting _my_ attention. "Have you ever asked someone for forgiveness?"

I quickly turned to Bella, hopefully waiting to hear her finally speak. Instead, she slightly nodded her head yes.

"And did you expect them to forgive you?"

She shook her head no.

"Why not?"

This time Bella just stared at the teacher, making absolutely no attempt to answer the question that was directed at her. It wasn't just me looking at her now. Everyone in the room had turned their attention to her. Even though it was only the second day of school, I was sure that everyone was aware that Bella refused to speak to anyone. I'm sure everyone was anxious to hear her speak. But like before - nothing.

Having come to realize that Bella wasn't going to answer, the teacher moved on to Mike Newton, asking him the same questions. Of course, he answered expectantly.

As everyone seemed to be moving on with the lesson, I stayed looking at Bella. Maybe if I stared at her hard enough, she would get angry and yell at me. But…nothing.

I tried spending the rest of the class paying attention, but there was a distracting noise that seemed to be coming from the side of me. It was beginning to frustrate me. It wasn't until I saw Bella slowly drop her left hand from her desk down to her stomach that I realized that the noise was coming from her stomach. She must have skipped breakfast because it was still too early to be hungry for lunch.

I spent the rest of the class trying to concentrate on what Ms. Maher was saying, but all I could think about was that someone should give Bella a bagel or something to make her stomach quiet down.

SS

"I tried talking to her again, to see if Jessica was right or just yanking our chain," Emmett said from his seat that was located across from me. "Not a peep from her. She actually acts like she can't hear you. It's kinda annoying."

It was now easier to see that the way Bella was acting towards me wasn't personal. The fact remained though; I still wanted her to talk to me.

"Yeah, I did too, with no success," I added.

"Wonder what turned social butterfly Bella into a mute," Rosalie mused as she picked through her salad.

"You heard what Jessica said," Alice piped in. "She's still adjusting. Maybe she just needs to reacquaint herself with Forks. I bet a year out of here feels like a lot longer."

While Alice had a valid point, I didn't believe that what Bella had to adjust to was Forks. There was something else going on with her.

Conversation of a different topic continued around me. I participated as best I could, but like always as of late, Bella invaded my every thought.

As if she could sense my thoughts, Bella came into vision and sat at the same place she sat the day before. Jessica was already seated with her untouched tray in front of her. As soon as Bella sat down, Jessica slid a note to her. Reading it quickly, Bella looked up at Jessica, smiled softly at her and nodded. Jessica said something else to her, but because I was too far away, I couldn't hear what it was. Bella then gave her an annoyed look for a few seconds, but then quickly gave her another small smile. Jessica jumped up from her seat, headed towards Bella and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Bella had an amused twinkle in her eye when Jessica gave her a kiss. It was the second time that I had seen anything but absolute nothingness in her eyes.

Jessica picked up her tray and started walking away from the table that they shared. Curious as to where she was going, I continued to look at her as she made her way somewhere else. I saw her finally take a vacant seat next to Mike Newton.

I glanced back at Bella, noticing two things. First, her eyes returned to the brown emptiness that they had been for the past two days. It was extremely sad to witness. Second, all she had in front of her was a naval orange and the same red water bottle from yesterday. I was surprised by her lack of food. The way her stomach was gurgling this morning, I thought that she would have had a lunch that could rival Emmett's.

As I continued to be a creeper, sitting here and watching Bella, I saw her dig into her jacket pocket and pull something out. I recognized it to be her phone. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers and she flashed a brilliant smile down at her phone. It was the same smile that I saw her wear briefly yesterday. Whoever texted her yesterday must have just texted her again. And again, I became irrationally jealous.

I darted my eyes from Bella, unable to withstand the ecstatic look on her face that someone else brought to her. I should have been glad that someone was able to make her smile like that, even if it couldn't be me. Still though, it pissed me off.

SS

I needed this day to be over with already. I should have known from the moment I woke up that nothing was going to work out. And when I said nothing, I really meant Bella. Maybe I was hoping that she was just having a bad day yesterday. Maybe I thought that she was going to be the girl I pined over for years now. Maybe I was just delusional.

I didn't think the day would ever come, but I was actually glad that I wasn't going to be sitting next to Bella in the next class. It was only two days, not even two whole days at that, and she already had my mind reeling.

Lagging behind everyone else, I finally entered the biology classroom. Because I'm obviously extremely fucking dumb, the first thing I did was look to see if Bella was already here. I figured she might be since I saw here leave the cafeteria way before anyone else did. It wasn't like she spent a lot of time eating her one orange and drinking her water.

As I slowly walked over to the table that I shared with Angela, I heard my name being called from behind me. I turned to see Ben jogging towards me.

"Hey, man," he greeted. "Can you do me a huge favor?" Ben asked pleadingly.

"Yeah, I guess. What's going on?"

"You think you can switch seats with me today? I planned on sitting with Angela yesterday, but I was late and, well you know," he finished, his eyes darting over to the table he sat at yesterday…with Bella.

I did know. I sat with Angela while he was stuck with the person everyone was whispering about the last two days. I knew Ben, and I knew that he wasn't just saying this to get out of sitting with Bella. I'm assuming that something formed between him and Angela over the summer.

"Yeah, alright," I sighed. He only specified today, so tomorrow I could resume not sitting with Bella after that.

"Thanks a lot, Ed." He walked off, smiling in the direction that I was originally heading towards.

Taking a deep breath, I braced myself to once again be in the presence of Bella Swan – the chick that refused to speak to anyone.

I saw her eyes dart to me and then quickly away as I approached her table.

"Ben wanted to sit with Angela today," I explained when I sat down, even though I knew that she wasn't going to respond.

Sure enough, she didn't say anything. She kept her head straight, solely focusing on Mr. Banner's movements.

He finally called the class to attention after shuffling around some papers that were on his desk.

"I wasn't going to announce this today, but I figured the earlier I did, the more time everyone would have," Mr. Banner began. "The science project that you will be assigned will count as half of your grade for the quarter. Everyone is going to work with a partner. I was going to assign partners, but I figured everyone could just work with whomever they are sitting next to. With that being said, I hope you at least don't detest your seat mate because that is your partner for this project."

Of course!

If the situation was different then of course I would be jumping for joy right now. I had a short urge to go wring Ben's neck, who just so happened to be grinning from ear to ear. However, I quickly realized that this was my chance. If Bella was ever going to talk to me, then this was going to be it. We would have to spend a lot of time together, using some of it to get to know each other better.

The day was starting to look a little bit better now. Maybe I wouldn't wring Ben's neck after all.

"So I suggest, if you haven't already, swap phone numbers with your partner. You're going to be spending a lot of time with them throughout the course of this project," Mr. Banner finished.

In my periphery, I saw Bella stiffen as she watched the teacher as he talked. Once again, I tried not to take it personally. I assumed, and probably rightly, that she did not like the idea of having to trade numbers with me.

Everyone in the classroom was now talking to their partner. Bella made no move to turn to me, so I took matters into my own hands. I ripped out a piece of notebook paper and wrote down my number. I slid the paper over to her, placing it right in front of her, this way she couldn't deny seeing it later. She stared at it for a moment, as if she expected it to do something. Finally, she ripped a piece off the paper that I had given her and began writing on it. It took her a little longer than I had expected for her to write down her number. When she finally slid the paper back my way, without ever looking at me, I noticed that something else was written on the paper underneath her number.

_**Please don't call; text only**_

I tried not to be offended that she didn't want me calling her. It was pretty easy when you looked at the bigger picture – I now had Bella's number. I had every intention of putting it to use.

I dug through the small pocket of my book bag to retrieve me phone. When I managed to finally find it, I quickly entered her number. It was dumb of me to be so eager, considering I already had it on the paper I was holding with a death grip. But for some reason, it seemed more official once it was in my phone.

Surprisingly, I saw Bella enter my number into her phone as well. I actually felt a little smug about it. That was until I heard her phone vibrate next to me. She moved the phone down to her lap, reading the incoming text message. Like every time before, her whole aura seemed to change when she received a text.

I looked away then; I could feel my anger, or jealousy, beginning to rise. I began looking at everyone else in the room, really at anything but the now happy girl that was sitting next to me. But even though I wasn't looking at her, it didn't mean I wasn't thinking about her, or rather the person she was talking to. I couldn't help wondering if that person was allowed to call her, or were they restricted to texting only, as well. Probably not. I doubted that anyone who made her smile like that wasn't allowed to call her. They probably spent hours on the phone talking every night.

The room suddenly became very stifling. I couldn't wait for the class to be over with. After a few more minutes of allowing the class to discuss things with their partners, Mr. Banner called us all to order again. He continued on about the project, but I was so far gone that I didn't even bother trying to pay attention to what he was saying.

SS

"So that sucks about Swan being your partner," Emmett said from his seat on top of the picnic table that was located on school grounds. We had gathered here again after to school to discuss plans.

Since we were all in the same biology class, they were all aware that I had been partnered with Bella for the project.

"Nah, not really. This is probably my chance to finally get her to talk to me. This is a good thing," I said trying to remain positive.

"Yeah, well you've got to get her to talk first, genius," Jasper added.

"No duh, ass. She's gonna have to talk to me if she wants to get a good grade on this project. It's half of her grade, too."

"Actually…no. I heard from Lauren that she just sits in class and never answers any of the questions that the teachers ask her. From what it seems, she doesn't care about her grades at all," Rosalie commented.

I wanted to argue, but I truthfully couldn't. I witnessed it for myself the other day. I hoped that this wasn't the case. Even though I really wanted Bella to talk to me, my grade on this project did matter. I didn't want it jeopardized because of someone unwilling to communicate with me.

"He didn't give us the topics," I said, suddenly remembering this fact.

"Someone wasn't paying attention in class, huh? You were probably too hung up on Bella being your partner," Alice quipped. "Anyway, he's assigning the topics tomorrow. We'll know then."

I was about to respond when I saw Bella walk out of the school building, arm in arm with Jessica. Rather, Jessica was hanging off of Bella's arm. I watched as they walked over to Jessica's car first. From the angle that I was sitting, and from where they were standing, I could see both of their profiles.

Jessica was saying something that I couldn't make out. Bella looked right at her as she continued to talk. After another minute, Jessica finally stopped talking. Bella's response shocked me. Instead of verbally answering Jessica, she began moving her hands. Although I wasn't familiar with it, I definitely recognized it as sign language.

…And then it all clicked - Bella not responding when her name was called or when she was talked to, staring at someone when they talked, her asking me not to call her.

Bella was deaf!

**AN: Thanks for reading and I really hope you review. I have some chapters written already, but I'm still undecided of whether to continue with the story or not. It's not getting as much attention as I would have liked. I dunno…let me know, I guess.**

**I also have another story, Fighting Our Fate. It's going unbeta'd and will probably remain that way. It's a story that I'm just having fun with when I need to take a break from writing chapter for this story. Check it out and let me know what you think if you haven't already.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: A big thank you to ADT216 for beta'ing this chapter for me. And an even big thank you to the wonderful review I received last chapter.**

**I'M GOING TO APOLOGIZE NOW FOR THE ENDING OF THIS CHAPTER. I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT THE END KEEPS POSTING ALL TOGETHER. I'VE TRIED FIXING IT BUT IT'S NOT WORKING. IF IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO READ, I AM TRULY SORRY.**

**All things Twilight belong to SM.**

"No," Alice protested when I told her the conclusion that I came to about Bella.

I was right and I knew I was right. The most important sign was there- the sign language.

"If she wasn't deaf then why was she using sign language with Jessica before?" I argued.

Just as I suspected, no one had a plausible answer.

"Wait, she can't be deaf," Jasper spoke up after a silent minute, shaking his head. "Mute maybe, but not deaf. How can she be deaf when she's always wearing ear buds? If she can't hear the music then what's the point?" he asked, looking completely smug.

He did have a really good point. I couldn't counter it. There was no reason that I could think of for her to be wearing ear buds if she couldn't hear the music. Yet, I still refused to believe that Bella wasn't deaf. It made no sense for her to fake something as serious as not being able to hear.

"Maybe she's like that Beethoven dude. He was deaf and still composed; granted he wasn't completely deaf, but still. It was said that he could feel the rhythms, or the vibrations, or whatever, when he was composing. Maybe that's Bella's deal. Maybe she can feel the music," Emmett chimed him.

We all turned to stare at Emmett, mouths agape and completely stunned.

"What?" he asked bewilderedly.

"That was completely insightful, Em. How the hell did you know that?" Rosalie asked, still shocked that something so intelligent could come from someone like Emmett.

"I dunno," he said, scratching his head. "Maybe I saw it on TV?" he asked.

"Either way," I interjected. "Playing the piano and listening to music through headphones aren't the same thing. Maybe she really can't hear the music. Maybe it's just a ruse."

"Why would she pretend to be listening to music? That doesn't make sense," Jasper said, voicing his opinion.

"Actually, it does," Rosalie said. "School has only been back in session for two days and you should hear the shit that is going around about her."

"What do you mean?" I knew that there was some gossip going on about her, but Rosalie made it seem more dramatic than I thought it to be.

"Everyone thinks she's on drugs or something. I don't believe it, but I guess I can see why people would think so. She doesn't talk to anyone, aside from Jessica. She doesn't look like she's ever on planet Earth with the rest of us, and frankly, she's really fucking rude. You've seen how she ignores people when they talk to her. She's not the Bella that you remember," Rose finished.

"You should ask Jessica," Alice said, turning to me.

"And what would you like me to say to her? How does 'Hey, Jess, is Bella a deaf mute?' sound? Besides, if it was something that she wanted to tell us, she would have the day we saw her in the diner or when I talked to her today."

They remained quiet again, contemplating what I said.

"Wait a second," Alice said, shaking her head. "I heard someone say that she works in the laundromat. How could she get a job there is she was a deaf mute?" Alice looked at me expectedly, as if I had an answer.

"Are you saying that the deaf shouldn't be able to work?" I asked her teasingly.

"No, jerk. You know that's not what I meant. Bella doesn't want to interact with people at school, people that she knows; so why would she take a job where she's surrounded by people that she doesn't know?"

"Wait," Emmett interrupted. "Forks had a laundromat?" he asked seriously.

I couldn't help but laugh at the idiocy that seeped from my brother most times.

"Yes, Forks has a laundromat. Not everyone is as privileged as the Cullens," Jasper ribbed.

"What the hell are you talking about Jasper? You're just as well off as they are," Rosalie scoffed.

"And so are you, princess," Jasper razzed back.

"I know. That's why I don't say shit." She smirked.

"Can we get back to the topic at hand, please? We gotta find out if Bella really is a deaf mute," I said, trying to get the rest of the group to focus.

"No, we don't have to do anything," Rose said. "You're the one who wants to get in her pants, so that's on you," she finished, picking at her nails.

"We should go see if she does work at the laundromat. We could do a covert operation, or something. See if she talks to anyone," Alice suggested, clearly excited by her own idea.

"For being the oldest, you're kind of a moron," I deadpanned, but couldn't help eventually cracking a smile.

"Oh, shut up." Alice stuck her tongue out at me. "You know it's good idea."

"No, it's not. What you're suggesting is spying on Bella. I want to know what her deal is too, but I'm not trying to go 007 on her." I quickly squashed the idea of stalking Bella.

"So how you gonna find out then?" Alice challenged.

"We have that project that we have to work on together; she has to eventually talk to me."

"I thought you said that she told you to text her?" Jasper asked.

"Well yeah, but if this project is going to take a couple of weeks then she has to talk to me at some point. If she _does_ talk," I added as an afterthought.

"And what'cha gonna do if she really is deaf, dude? How the hell is that supposed to work?" Emmett asked.

I had absolutely no idea. I didn't know sign language, so that was out. I guess if worse came to worse, we could just write each other messages.

Since I didn't have an answer for him, I just shrugged.

"Here's to hoping E's girl can't hear," Emmett toasted, raising his soda can in the air.

"Don't you mean _can_ hear?" Alice asked, confused.

"No, I mean can't. If she can't hear this fucker complain all the time about everything, she's one lucky chick," he replied laughing. Everyone but me began laughing right after.

"Fuck off, dick," I said, stomping out of the room. I was not a complainer.

~~0~~

Like the last two mornings, I watched as Bella hopped off her crappy truck, ear buds in place. The conversation about her listening to music still lingered in my mind. I was becoming too curious for my own good. I said a quick goodbye to everyone and began to jog towards Bella.

I called out her name as I got closer, knowing that she couldn't hear me, whether it was because she was deaf or the music. As I suspected, she continued to walk straight ahead without turning back. As I continued trying to catch up to her, I noticed people glancing as she passed them by. It was evident that what Rose said yesterday was true. They also looked at me every time I shouted Bella's name.

Quickly enough, I was right behind her. Before I made my presence known, I stayed close behind her hoping to hear something coming out her ear buds. Because the parking lot was too noisy, I couldn't hear if she was listening to something or not. Deciding not to waste anymore time, I tapped Bella on her shoulder to get her attention. She stopped and abruptly turned around.

And there it was again – that look- completely resigned and almost lifeless.

She never took out her ear buds, not even one, to hear whatever it was that I was going to say. Although, to be honest, I had no idea what I was going to say. I didn't think that far ahead. She did continue looking at me, waiting for whatever it was that was so important that caused me to stop her.

I wasn't going to look like an ass and talk to her while she had her ear buds in. Suddenly feeling brave, I moved one hand forward to take out her left ear bud from her ear. She didn't flinch or make any move to stop me. She just looked at my hand as it came closer to her, following its movements with her eyes.

"Hey," I intelligently greeted when her left ear was free. Like previous times, she said nothing, but still continued to look at me expectantly.

"So I think we should set up a time to discuss our project soon. We should be getting the topic today and I figured we could go from there."

As I was lamely talking to her, I saw her gaze shift from my eyes to my lips, continuously between the two. When I was done talking, I waited to see if maybe she was going to offer me anything, but as usual, nothing.

After an awkward moment, Bella replaced the ear bud back into place, sidestepped me, and continued to the school building. I stood there pathetically, never receiving an answer from her, although I would have been surprised if I did.

Instead of standing there, continuing to look like the loser that I felt like, I turned and made my own way back to the school. I made a quick stop at my locker before class. Just as I slammed my locker shut, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket.

**Does tomorrow during lunch work for you? –B**

Bella? Did I just receive a text from Bella? I obviously knew that it was from her. Because her name and number was programmed into my phone, her name appeared instead of the number. But I still couldn't believe that it was actually her texting me.

It was a fleeting thought, though, that she had heard what I said before. Before I could linger on the fact that she wasn't deaf, like I thought, I also remembered that she kept looking at my mouth. It made perfect sense that she must have read my lips.

**Yeah, that's fine – E **

I sent her a quick confirmation before I began dwelling on it too much and caused myself to forget to even reply. I was about to be late, seeing as I spent more time pondering Bella's text longer than I thought. I raced to class before I was marked late and tried to push thoughts of Bella to the side. It probably would have worked if I had remembered that we had first period together.

She was sitting in the same seat she had occupied the first two days. And just like yesterday and the day before, and every other time I've seen her, she had her ear buds in place. I made my way over to my seat, right next to her.

The class was in session for about twenty minutes when a thought popped into my head. I tore out a piece of paper from the back of my notebook and scribbled a quick note.

_**If we had class together why didn't you just speak to me here instead of texting? – E **_

I had no idea if she was going to respond, or even acknowledge the note, but I figured I should just give it a try. I folded up the paper and tossed it on her desk while the teacher had her back turned.

Bella didn't make any move to unfold the paper, but I knew that she aware of it; it landed on the center of her desk. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally grabbed the note. However, she didn't make to unfold it right away. She held it in her hand, turning it as if she was studying it. Another moment and she began unfolding the note, reading the short message slowly.

I was minutely excited when I saw that she was at least reading the note. However, my excitement was quickly deflated when she crumbled up the note and placed it on the corner of her desk. She turned to me, looking me squaring in the eyes. If it was any other time, the fact that we were having direct eye contact would have made my teenage heart flutter. However, in the few days that I have been in Bella's presence again, every time she looked at me I was a little creeped out.

She stared at me longer than necessary; I was growing more uncomfortable under her gaze. Unlike this morning, her eyes seemed to roam my whole sitting figure, almost like she was sizing me up. I refused to look away even though I felt as if I was being scrutinized. Another awkward moment passed before Bella finally looked me in the eyes again. She shrugged and then turned to face the front again. Although I had absolutely no clue, I assumed that her shrug was in response to the note, but I had no idea.

~~0~~

I wasn't going to do this. I didn't want to do this. But I had to do this.

I had an idea of where Jessica's locker was, but not exactly.

I left a little early to lunch, hoping to catch Jessica before she headed to the cafeteria or met up with Bella. As I was on my way to where I thought her locker was located, she was coming out of the girl's bathroom.

"Hey, Jessica," I called after her.

She turned around to see who had called her name. I ran up to her as to not keep her waiting.

"Hey. What's going on?" she said in greeting.

"Nothing much. Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

There were numerous reasons why I didn't want to inquire about Bella through Jessica, but I was growing exceedingly impatient. All morning I kept thinking about Bella's odd behavior. Aside from the lip reading, nothing made sense.

"Can Bella read lips?" This wasn't really what I wanted to ask her, but I figured it was a good segue.

She looked at me like I just grew a second head. "Um…yeah, so do I. Is that it?" She looked completely confused as to what the hell my point was. I was hoping that she would give me more than that, but it wasn't the case. I didn't want to ask Jessica outright, but I didn't see what other options I had. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for however she would respond.

"Is Bella deaf?" I so eloquently asked.

Jessica looked flabbergasted. Her eyes widened and her mouth was slightly agape.

"What makes you ask that?" She seemed slightly distressed, yet more annoyed than anything.

"Because I saw her using sign language when she was talking to you yesterday," I explained.

"If she was using sign language with me, wouldn't that mean that _I'm_ the deaf one?" Jessica asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She did have a good point; I hadn't thought of it that way.

"Then she's mute?" I offered as a rebuttal.

"And what makes you think she's mute?" She seemed to be growing impatient as I spewed my ridiculous questions and comments at her.

"Besides the use of sign language, she never talks. She never replies when I ask her a question or says hi when I say hi to her. She has to be mute," I explained to Jessica. To me it all made perfect sense, but based on the glare coming from Jessica, she didn't see the logic in it.

""To answer your question, no, she's not deaf. Because Bella doesn't want to talk to you, that makes her either deaf or mute?" she scoffed. "Besides, Bella has used sign language way before he -" Jessica trailed off, leaving her sentenced unfinished. "Look like I told you before, she just has a lot on her mind and making small talk with people isn't something that's high on her to do list. If she talks to you then she talks to you. If not, leave it alone," she said pointedly, almost as a warning.

We stared at each other for a moment. I continued to look at her, trying to figure out what she was going to say before she cut herself off. She was probably trying to figure out if I was going to take what she said seriously.

"Well she sent me a text saying that she would meet with me during lunch tomorrow to _talk_ about our project," I informed her smugly. I wanted her to realize that she wasn't the only one Bella was willing to talk to. It must have thrown her for a loop. She raised one eyebrow questioningly, before she threw in a challenging smirk.

She chuckled humorlessly. "Well let me know how that works out for ya."

"What is that supposed to mean?" It came out a little more aggressively than I had meant it to.

"You're seriously delusional if you think that you and Bella are actually going to have a real conversation. I got-" She reached into her bag and pulled out her wallet. "Forty bucks that says Bella doesn't utter one word to you throughout your lunch meeting."

She was irritating me, like a lot. Her confidence in her dumb bet was infuriating. I knew that she was Bella's best friend, but besides that what made her so damn special that she was the only person Bella was willing to talk to?

"You're on Stanley." I accepted her bet. If I had to beg Bella to at least let out a small peep, I was not letting Jessica win this bet.

"I guess that's it then. I'll see you after lunch tomorrow to collect my money, Cullen." She gave me another smirk and began walking away.

"Hey, Jess?" I called before she could get too far away. Another question popped into my head that I figured Jessica might be able to answer.

"What happened, realized that you're gonna lose?" She continued smirking.

I ignored her comment and asked her what was on my mind. "What's with Bella, anyway? When she looks at me it's like she's not really there."

Her smirk quickly vanished to be replaced by a remorseful frown. "You noticed that too, huh?" she asked sadly. I nodded yes. "Like I said, she has a lot going on right now. She swore me to secrecy, but even if she didn't it's not something I would share with people, anyway. I like gossip just as much as the next person, but I do know where to draw the line."

"It's not my place to ask, but can you at least tell me if her parents are getting divorced?" I still felt that what Jessica said all those days ago was off, wrong.

She shook her head no. "They're not, but that's all I'm gonna say." I nodded in agreement, happy to at least find out that she had lied before. We continued to stare at each other like we had a moment ago, neither one of us knowing what to say from there.

"Hey," Jessica finally spoke, a sad smile in place. "If you do manage to get her to talk to you tomorrow, not only will I give you the forty, but I'll throw in an extra forty and a big ass hug." She laughed, but it was forced. "I've tried to get her to talk for awhile now, but nothing seems to work. I want back the Bella that wouldn't shut up." She chuckled humorlessly again, but looked like she was on the verge of tears.

I had no idea what to do. I hated dealing with tears; they made me uncomfortable. I did the first thing I could think of and wrapped her in a hug. It always worked for Alice when she was upset. After a few moments, we broke apart. I saw her wipe away an errant tear and smile at me.

"Thanks. I gotta go meet up with her now. Good luck tomorrow." She waved before she started walking away again.

I was still lost in the enigma that was new Bella, but whatever was plaguing her seemed to be plaguing her best friend, too.

~~0~~

All morning I was anticipating my meeting with Bella. This is the moment I've been waiting for since school began. I checked the parking lot for her truck, but came up empty, even though the first bell would be ringing in a few short minutes.

"That rain was crazy last night," Emmett commented as we all began the small walk to the school entrance.

"I know, right. Even though it rains like every damn day, it doesn't rain like that very often," Alice said.

I didn't join in on the conversation, but I did agree that the rain was pretty bad last night. Not only was it raining heavily, but it was accompanied by thunder, lightning, and hail. On nights like that, I couldn't help thinking about stray animals and how they would be trying to get out of the wet and cold. I had a soft spot for animals.

I headed to my first period hoping that maybe Bella was there already, even though her truck wasn't in the lot. I was immediately disappointed when I saw that she wasn't. However, I held on to hope that maybe she was just running late. Ten minutes into the class, I realized that she wasn't making it.

I went through the rest of the morning wondering why she hadn't come to first period. I hoped that she wasn't going to flake on our lunch meeting. I wanted to text her, to find out why she didn't show to first period, but finally decided against it. It was still possible that she was just running extremely late, and had in fact made it to the rest of her classes. If that did turn out to be the case, the text would just make me seem desperate and strangely overbearing. I had to just grin and bear it – wait patiently until lunch.

When lunch finally did arrive, I had to stop myself from sprinting to the cafeteria. Instead, I played it cool. I walked over to my usual table and waited to see Bella walk through the doors. As I waited, slowly everyone came to join me at the table.

"I don't think she's in today," Emmett said before stuffing his face. "She wasn't in class today," he mumbled with a full mouth.

"Why does it even matter if she's here?" Jasper asked. "It's not like she's gonna talk to you."

"She has to talk to me if she wants a good grade on this project."

Yesterday, during biology we were given our project topic. One person in each group had to literally pick a topic out of a hat. Needless to say, I was the one to go up and pick a piece of paper from the hat; I drew DNA. I guess we lucked out since DNA projects were fairly common.

I felt awkward sitting next to her during biology since I had that little talk with Jessica, but I was still disappointed that she wasn't in school today. However, I was more pissed off at myself, believing that that would be the interaction that would get the ball rolling to our friendship. Deciding to find out what was up, I sent Bella a quick text.

**What happened to meeting at lunch? –E**

I didn't expect an immediate reply, but she was still talking pretty long to answer. Right before I was about to get up to leave, I finally felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

**Not in school. - B**

Fucking duh!

I realized that I wasn't going to get anywhere asking her why she wasn't in school. I knew it was none of my business, but I was stood up. I felt that, at least this once, I had a right to know what was going on. I looked around the cafeteria, hoping to spot Jessica before she left with the rush of everyone else. Finally seeing her by the trash cans, I jogged over to get to her before she left.

"Hey," I said in greeting.

"Hey, Cullen. What's up?" she asked when she turned around.

"Nothing much. How come Bella isn't in school today?"

"Oh crap, your lunch meeting," she said, sounding as if she truly had forgotten about it. "Bella thinks she has a cold or something; she got caught in that thunderstorm last night."

I suddenly felt like a huge ass. It never crossed my mind that the reason she hadn't shown up for school was because of illness. Egotistically, I thought that she was just standing me up; trying to avoid meeting up with me.

"That sucks," I lamely replied. "Are you visiting her after school?"

Jessica had a wary expression, taking her bottom lip into her mouth and between her teeth. I don't know what I said to cause such a reaction from her. Friends visited friends when they were sick. It seemed like Jessica was really worried about catching whatever it was that Bella had.

"I work after school today, so I probably won't get the chance," she finally replied. "We gotta go or we'll be late to class." She gave me a hesitant smile then turned to leave.

Something that I said, or asked, caused Jessica to become cautious with her replies, that much I was aware of. I also knew that, obviously, it had to do with Bella. The more I inquired about her, it seemed the more lost I became. Something was up, and I couldn't even fathom what it could be.

Because it was just going to cause me more stress to think about, I began walking towards biology- the other class I shared with Bella.

"Did you find out why Bella was a no show?" Alice asked as I took my seat at my empty lab table.

"Yeah, she got caught in the rain yesterday. She has a cold."

"Ahh."

When Mr. Banner began class, talking about molecules, I immediately tuned him out, sending Bella text instead.

**Heard you weren't feeling good. Get well soon. Hope you make it in tomorrow. – E**

I had no idea why I ended the text the why I did. I figured it was the right thing to do. I told myself that I wanted her in so we could begin discussing the project, but I knew it was more than that. I wanted to make sure she was okay. I think that a small part of me, a very small part, just missed seeing her in school, even if she did stare at me like a creeper. She never said anything, but it was like her presence was enough.

I waited her Bella's response, but it never came.

~~0~~

It had been over a week since I had seen Bella. Whenever I texted her, she never responded. I tried not to go to Jessica on the third day of class she missed, but I finally gave in, my worry and anxiety winning out. She had only talked to Bella once during the time, but told me that Bella had the flu, not just a cold.

It was Friday night and I didn't have plans. Because I had put off working on the DNA project since Bella wasn't around, I decided to start without her. I was doing research on my laptop in the living room, when Alice had walked in.

"Where you going?" I asked when I saw that she was dressed up.

"No where special. Jasper's taking me to the movies. So what'cha doin?" she asked, leaning over to take a look at the computer screen.

"Well, I was waiting to start working on the project with Bella, but since she hasn't been in school this whole week I figured I should just start on my own."

"Are you talking about Bella Swan?" Carlisle asked. I hadn't even heard him enter the living room.

"Yeah, why?" I asked curiously, furrowing my eyebrows.

"She was at the hospital on Monday. We were understaffed so I had to take some of the emergency room patients."

Although he had my attention when he said she was at the hospital, he really had my attention when he said emergency room.

"Why was she in the emergency room and why didn't you tell me?" I'm not sure if anyone else did, but I heard the urgency in my voice.

"First, I'm not allowed to disclose patient's information, so consider yourself lucky I'm even telling you I saw her." He didn't sound mad, but used a tone telling me that I already knew what he just said. I nodded in agreement. "And the only reason why I am telling you this is because you'll probably hear about it anyway." Again, I nodded, hoping he would just get to the point.

"Anyway," he continued. "She came in with her mother-"

"Her mother?" I questioned, cutting him off. He looked at me annoyed and then began speaking again.

"Like I said, she came in with her mother, thinking that she had the flu. Because her mother said that Bella wasn't getting any better, we decided to do some tests. Come to find out, she actually had walking pneumonia," he finished. The only thing that registered with me was the word pneumonia. "Holy shit, Dad. She has pneumonia?" Alice asked the same question that was running through my brain, but I couldn't manage to get out. "Yes, but calm down, Alice. Pneumonia's bad, but worse in babies and the elderly. Besides, I said _walking_ pneumonia. It's not as bad. It's worse than the flu, but not as bad as the kind of pneumonia you're thinking of. I prescribed some antibiotics; she might even be back at school on Monday." "All that just from getting caught in the rain?" Alice asked no one in particular. "No, this wasn't from the rain. I mean, the rain probably helped, but it didn't cause it." "Did you talk to her?" I asked, not bothering to hide the curiosity in my voice. "Her mother talked for her; she wasn't feeling well enough to answer any questions." I nodded my head, acknowledging what he just said. I was disappointed and relieved at the same time. Disappointed because I wanted to know if her voice sounded any different from what I remember. Yet, I was relieved because I wanted to hear her voice for myself. "What's her address so we can go visit her?" Alice asked cheerfully, causing me to raise an eyebrow at her. Yes, Alice was friendly, but it wasn't like Bella had extended her hand in friendship to anyone. Alice looked at me and shrugged in response. "Port Angeles, actually," he replied. "That doesn't make any sense. One, she goes to Forks High again, so she can't live in Port Angeles. Second, even if she did live there, why come to this hospital?" I asked. It never failed with Bella. Every time I found out just the tiniest bit of information about her it made me come up with a hundred more questions. "Couldn't tell ya," he said, shrugging. He turned to leave then, leaving Alice and me sitting on the sofa. "Weird, huh?" Alice said when Carlisle was out of earshot. "Yeah. Now I feel kinda bad about being mad at her for staying away so long," I responded. "What the hell is up with the address thing? She has to live in Forks; the school wouldn't let her register if she didn't." "No idea. Maybe they're using their old address still." She shrugged. "Well I gotta go pick up Jasper. I'll see ya later." I said goodbye and continued to think about what Carlisle had just told us. And as always, I was left with a headache. I continued doing a little more research before calling it a night and heading up to my room. ~~0~~ I felt a tap on my shoulder coming from behind me. I turned to see Jessica standing there. I took out one ear bud to talk to her. "Hey. I just thought you'd like to know that Bella's coming back today," she informed me. "Really?" I couldn't hide my excitement. It was Monday, and almost two weeks since I had last seen Bella. I tried texting her again over the weekend, but never got a response. I was more than thrilled to be able to finally see her after so long, regardless if she talked to me or not. I really was worried about her. "Yeah, but she's coming in late, probably after first but before lunch. She's better, but still a little under the weather." I was a little upset that I wouldn't be able to see her first period, but didn't have it in me to worry about it too much since I would be seeing her at lunch. "Cool! Are you going to sit with her at lunch?" I asked Jessica. "I planned on it, but if you wanna have your project meeting I'm cool with it. I'll sit with Mike," she said, a smile forming from thinking about Mike. "Yeah, if you don't mind." "No problem, I've been waiting for my forty bucks, after all," she said, laughing and reminding me of our earlier bet. "Whatever, Stanley," I replied, smiling and shaking my head. We said goodbye and went to our own classes. Sure enough, Bella wasn't in English. The class and the rest of the morning dragged on. For obvious reasons, I couldn't wait until lunch, so when it finally arrived, I practically ran the whole way to the cafeteria. I was early and Bella wasn't there. Luckily enough, the lunch line was fairly empty and I was able to grab a sandwich and soda before Bella appeared. However, once I sat at my own table, she finally entered and went for her usual space. I grabbed by bag and lunch to go join Bella. She was startled when she heard the chair scrap against the floor as I pulled it out to sit. I guess I just confirmed that she wasn't deaf. "Sorry," I mumbled apologetically, and then sat down. Like I noticed the times before, she had her red water bottle, but this time she had crackers instead of a fruit. She looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something, but all I could do at the moment was stare. Her eyes still looked the same, only this time she looked even more tired, if that was possible. It was evident that she was still a little sick, but she was still beautiful, nonetheless. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable, both with staring so hard at her and her staring in return. I had to say something. "I heard you were sick. I texted you, but I guess you weren't well enough to respond." It came out accusatory, but I didn't mean it that way. She stared at me. "So anyway, I started doing research on the project so we wouldn't fall behind. If you want-" I stopped talking when I saw her begin digging through her own book bag. I wanted her full attention while I was talking to her about _our_ project. She took out and placed a fairly thick stack of papers in the middle of the table, pushing it my way. I looked at her quizzically before I grabbed the stack. I was shocked at what I was looking at. In front of me was what looked to be maybe a month's worth of research on DNA. Some passages were highlighted and notes were scribbled in the margin. "You did all this while you were sick?" I asked her, dumbfounded. She had done a hell of a lot more than I had. She nodded. "Shit, this is a lot. Can I hold on to these to make copies?" She shook her head no. "Um…okay…" I had no idea how to respond to that so I just stared at her. Just then, she dug into her bag again and pulled out a similar stack. "Are this my copies then?" I asked in complete awe. She nodded. Bella definitely had not slacked while she was away. This totally dispelled the rumors about her not caring about her grades. Then again, she could be this devoted because it was not just her grade on the line, but I doubted that. "Do you mind if I eat here while I look these over?" I asked pointing to my papers. She shrugged indifference. "Thanks," I mumbled. I unwrapped my overstuffed sandwich absentmindedly while I skimmed through the first page of Bella's notes. She had nice handwriting, even though the words were squeezed together within the small spaces. I don't really know how long I had been sitting there, eating and reading, when I finally looked up. Bella was staring at something in my direction, but it wasn't me. I realized that she seemed to be staring at my sandwich of all things. "Want half?" I offered, holding out the uneaten half towards her. She looked at me like I was crazy. At least it was a new look. "You've been sick so you probably haven't eaten much of anything these days, huh?" Then she had given me another completely new look as of late. She looked sad, someone stole her puppy kind of sad. I only held her gaze for a few seconds before she looked down and took a quivering lip between her teeth. I had no idea what I said to make her seem so sad, but I had to fix it. I just didn't know how. "Hey look, I'm sorry. I just thought maybe you wanted something more to eat than crackers. I have to live on that stuff when I'm sick and I know it sucks. You really can have the other half if you think you can handle it," I pleaded with her. The sadness in her eyes affected me more than any other look. She looked between me and the sandwich, undecided as to what she should do. After another moment of indecision, she shook her head determinedly, refusing the sandwich. "You sure?" I offered one more time. She didn't do or say anything, but continued to eat the rest of her crackers. It bothered me that she just wouldn't take the damn sandwich even though we both knew that she really wanted it. I looked back down to the papers in front of me and began reading again. A few minutes later, I heard Bella get up from her chair. I watched as she made her way over to the water fountain to refill her bottle. I made a quick decision. I wrapped up the other half of the uneaten sandwich and stuffed it in her bag before she made it back. "I gotta talk to Emmett before class," I told her when she finally returned. I didn't want to be around when she discovered the sandwich. She didn't indicate that she heard me, but I knew that she did. I gathered my things and walked over to my original table. AN:…so yeah, she isn't deaf. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and decide to sick with me here. I'm hoping for more reviews this chapter, but not forcing anyone. See you next time.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thanks for continuing to read. If I didn't respond to your review, I apologize. I read and appreciate every review I get.**

**I believe this story was rec'd somewhere b/c I received new alerts weeks after I updated, so whoever did, thank you so much. I need the exposure.**

**Lastly, this is the chapter where we find out what's up with Bella. Like I've responded in some review replies, this story is about dragging out her secret, which is why it is revealed so early on.**

**All things Twilight belong to SM**

One day turned into two, and two days turned into a week and a half of me sitting at Bella's table discussing our project. However, I used the word discuss loosely. She never did talk to me. Whenever I came across something in her notes that I thought was interesting and could possibly be used for our final product, I would point it out to her. In turn she would either nod in approval or grimace in disapproval. Fortunately, if she disapproved she would either send me a text or a note as to why she wasn't fond of the idea and how she thought we could improve it. We were making progress this way, but I still wasn't happy. She still wasn't talking to me, or anyone for that matter.

Because I was running late from my last class, I was going to be late to lunch. I liked to get there early or at least before Bella. I must not have been pretty late because Bella and Jessica were only one person ahead of me on the lunch line. They seemed to be in a tense standoff, based on their tense staring. Curiosity got the better of me and I began to strain to hear what they, well really Jessica, was talking about.

"Bella, I'm doing this for you so stop your shit and just be grateful," Jessica said tersely. Bella shook her finger in front of Jessica's face, indicating that she didn't want Jessica to do whatever she planned on doing.

"Listen," Jessica snapped while grabbing Bella's arm and pulling her closely. Jessica lowered her voice, making it even harder for me to hear what was going on. When she began talking again, her voice was much softer than it was seconds ago.

"Please, let me do this for you; it's the only thing I can do for you. Just consider it one of your birthday presents," she said, practically pleading. Bella looked at her for a few seconds before she let out a defeated sigh. She quickly signed something to Jessica in response. Whatever it was made Jessica happy as she quickly smiled and hugged Bella tightly. Bella had conceded.

When they walked away I dug out my phone. There was no way today was the 13th. It wasn't that I forgot when Bella's birthday was, because that's just blasphemy, but I just didn't realize today's date.

However, even if I did realize that today was her birthday, what could I have been expected to do? I didn't know how it would have looked if I showed up with a gift for her since we weren't really friends before she had moved away. I didn't know how she would feel about me knowing when her birthday was, but then again I had known her for years already. Maybe it wouldn't be that weird if I showed up with a gift for her.

I started looking through the sneeze guards at the food as I walked through the lunch line. They usually had some kind of dessert. Although it was unlikely, I was hoping that maybe they would have cupcakes. Like I figured, they didn't, but they did have individually sliced chocolate cake. I put one on my tray, hoping that she at least liked chocolate, which was something that I should probably know. I paid for everything on my tray and walked up to the table that I had been sitting at for almost the last two weeks.

Like she did every so often, Jessica was sitting at the table with Bella, most likely because it was Bella's birthday. I just hoped that she didn't have a problem with me sitting here today.

"Can I still join you, ladies?" I asked hesitantly, before I assumed it was okay to sit down.

Bella looked at me confused, like I was dumb, probably wondering why I even asked because yesterday I said I was going to sit with them.

"Well, I know that it's your birthday so I wasn't sure if you wanted to just spend the period hanging out with Jessica," I explained.

Bella scowled at Jessica, before she turned back to me and shrugged. I learned over the few days that we'd been working together that when Bella shrugged it meant to either help yourself or she just didn't give a shit.

I took a seat across the table from them and handed the slice of cake over to Bella.

"Happy birthday," I said with subdued enthusiasm. What I really wanted to say was "Happy birthday…let me take you out tonight," but I didn't think that would be happening anytime soon.

"So did you get Bella anything for her birthday?" I asked Jessica, trying to make conversation.

Jessica and Bella shared a wary glance which I didn't miss.

"Just lunch," she replied, shrugging.

There had to have been something else that Jessica bought or did for her for her birthday. There was no way they had that short standoff on the lunch line simply because of the sandwich and soda that sat next to Bella's usual fruit and water bottle.

~~0~~

"You gotta help me over here," I begged Jessica.

I was getting nowhere fast with Bella and I needed help. Jessica was the only person that could help me. I basically accosted her after my biology class with Bella. I tried engaging her in conversation about plans for her birthday, but nothing worked. I wasn't dumb enough to think that she was going to talk to me, but this time she wouldn't even send me notes or text messages. However, she did spend the whole class texting the fucker that made her smile so widely.

Jessica looked at me critically, probably internally conflicted with herself.

"Fine," she finally said. "Only because I owe this to both of you. I'm not working tonight, so come over after school."

"Great!" I practically squealed. "But what do you mean you owe it to both of us?" I questioned her.

"Just…I'll explain it when you come over."

The rest of the afternoon went by so damn slowly. I was almost giddy with anticipation about finding things out about Bella. I didn't have a clue as to what Jessica would or wouldn't tell me, but I would be pleased just to get the smallest amount of insight into Bella.

However, on the flip side, I was worried for Jessica. I didn't want to ruin their friendship over this. I guess I wasn't that worried, though, because I still had every intention of going to Jessica's.

After my last class of the day was over, I practically sprinted to my locker and raced to Jessica's car. She instructed me to follow her from school. As I was walking over to my car, I saw Bella standing by her truck. She was looking past me at something, and based upon the look on her face, she wasn't happy. She then turned her gaze to me, stopping me in my tracks. She narrowed her eyes at me, opened her door, and jumped into her truck. It was a quick, distant interaction, but still odd like the rest of them. Brushing it off, I began towards my car again to meet up with Jessica at her place.

It must have taken longer than I realized to get to Jessica's because by the time I finally arrived, her car was already parked with no one inside of it.

I parked my own car, walked up the long cobblestone pathway to her front door and rang the bell.

"Hello," answered a slightly older woman. "You're Dr. Cullen's boy," she stated. She opened the door wider, allowing my access inside.

"Yes, ma'am. How are you?" I politely greeted.

"You look like your dad. You can just call me Sherry; I'm Jessica's mom. I'm a maternity nurse at the hospital. Your father is such a nice man," she cooed. Unlike the countless times I've heard lustful comments about my father, Mrs. Stanley didn't sound like that. She had a genuine fondness for my father and didn't seem to want in his pants.

"Jessica told me you were going to be stopping by. You can have a seat in the living room to wait for her."

She was a nice woman. I thanked her and sat on one of the plush sofas that was placed in the corner. Before I could get too comfortable, Jessica came into the living room.

"Want something to drink?" she offered.

"Soda's cool if you got it." She came back a minute later with two cans of soda in her hand.

I popped the top of my soda, took a huge gulp, and turned to face Jessica who was nervously tracing the top of her can with her finger.

"So…" I said, hoping Jessica got the point that I wanted to talk already.

"Okay, look, I'll tell you what I know. I'm gonna start from the beginning, so don't interrupt me until I'm done; it'll be easier for me that way."

I nodded, agreeing to whatever terms she wanted as long as she talked.

"Her mom moved to Port Angeles to accept a job offer as a paralegal in a fairly known law firm over there. Bella didn't really want to move, but she really had no choice in the matter, plus she figured it was only an hour away from Forks and her friends. Anyway, things were going good in the beginning, especially with Jacob adjusting after what happened to his parents." I nodded along as she talked.

So far she wasn't telling me anything that I didn't already know or deem particularly important if I was going to try to get close to Bella.

"Renee started her job a week after they were settled, leaving Bella to watch Jacob. Those two were always close, thick as thieves. She would always babysit for him when their parents went out together, and of course Bella didn't mind doing any of this. But when school started up again, it's like Jacob's progress meant nothing. He would cry in the morning because he didn't want to go to school, and when he did go, either Charlie or Renee would be called in because Jacob was having panic attacks."

"Eventually, Renee asked if she could work from home. She was homeschooling Jacob and doing her regular job at the same time. It seemed to work at first, but I guess it got to be too much for Renee and her work started to suffer. She was let go but then began collecting unemployment."

I felt bad hearing all of the hardships that Bella's family had to go through in such a short amount of time. Although Bella hadn't been mentioned yet, I knew that all of this still directly affected Bella and could possibly explain her behavior now.

"Things became rough for them financially, as you can imagine. Charlie was still working, but he was making less than he did here in Forks. Anyway, one night Bella decided to take Jacob to dinner and a movie, like McDonald's and some Pixar movie or something. On the way home, she let Jacob sit in the front sit with her after he begged her. It had started raining and I guess the roads were slick. Bella told me that she was going too fast while she was trying to make a turn."

Jessica stopped there, taking a deep breath, trying to rein in her emotions. I could tell we were coming to the hard part; it was obvious. I could guess what was coming next, but I was hoping that I was wrong.

"The car flipped over a couple of times, stopping when it hit a tree. Bella broke her arm and received eleven stitches along her forehead. The doctor who did them actually did a great job because you really can't see the scar unless you really look for it." She took another deep breath.

"Jacob wasn't so lucky. Because he's such a tiny thing, the seat belt didn't do much for him. He was thrown from the car, onto the street. Bella told me that he suffered traumatic brain injury and a ruptured ear canal, causing him to lose his hearing."

"Holy shit!" That was the only thing going through my mind at the time.

"I still don't understand why she uses sign language with you, though," I blurted out, even though I was instructed to keep quiet.

"Just hold on, I'm not done." I nodded and gestured for her to continue. "Jacob is slowly getting his hearing back. His inner ear was extremely damaged, but the doctors said that with surgeries and time, he would be able to get most of his hearing back. To answer your question, Bella started teaching Jacob how to use sign language while he was still in the hospital. She uses it with me because it makes her feel better, I guess, I'm not really sure. My guess is that it reminds her of being with Jacob. And she doesn't really talk to anyone because she feels bad about it. Jacob doesn't really talk, so she doesn't want to either. You gotta understand that they're really close, and all Bella does is live with the guilt; she won't forgive herself even though Jacob already has. It's her own self-imposed punishment."

This explained…a lot. This was nothing close to what I was thinking, even though I really hadn't come up with many scenarios other than her leaving behind a boyfriend.

"Can I ask you some questions now?" I asked after I finished letting everything sink in.

"Yeah, go ahead."

"You said Bella and Charlie moved back, but what about Renee and Jacob?"

She let out an elongated sigh. "Renee and Jacob are still in Port Angeles. Because she lost her job, she also lost her medical benefits and the hospital bills were piling up. It was a tough decision, but they decided to downgrade from a three bedroom to a one bedroom. Charlie was able to talk to some of his old colleagues and get his old job back while Bella got a job at the laundromat. Out of their paychecks, they keep what they need to survive and send the rest to Renee to help with bills, rent, and things like that."

"Wait a second, that doesn't make sense. Instead of paying for rent in one apartment, they're paying rent in two different apartments?" I asked Jessica. She looked more uncomfortable now than she did throughout the whole time; she began to fidget in her seat.

"No, they're not paying for two apartments. Bella and Charlie stay at a homeless shelter when they can."

I had to be in the Twilight Zone. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Bella and Charlie were homeless? I didn't even know Forks had a homeless shelter.

"You mean to tell me that they both came back to Forks and voluntarily became homeless?" I asked sarcastically, finding it extremely hard to believe what he was saying.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying," she snapped back. "They couldn't afford the three bedrooms anymore and they all couldn't fit in a one bedroom. Charlie came down because he would make more money here and Bella came because she couldn't find work over there. They did it because it helps more financially. They both knew what they were getting into. " Jessica's tone was defensive, sticking up for her best friend's family and their decision.

I guess it did make sense the way she explained it. I sat back and tried to think of questions worth asking. I had a million of them, but we didn't have time for that. However, something she said struck me as odd.

"Wait. What do you mean '_when_ they can'?"

"The shelter is small and it mostly houses the homeless passing through town. Forks isn't exactly known for its homeless population. Anyway, if they get there too late they're either denied admission or there aren't anymore beds. If that's the case Bella and Charlie make other plans as to where they'll sleep. She always lies to Charlie, telling him that she's gonna sleep here, but she just crashes in her truck."

I was shocked to say the least and didn't know what to make of this. Bella reduced herself to living in a shelter where she wasn't even guaranteed a spot. It felt like with every new piece of information I learned about Bella, my heart broke a little more. Not only that, but I was becoming angry; angry at everyone who had ever gossiped about her this year. If they knew only half of what I had just found out, no one would dare utter a malicious word about her. And what about Jessica?

"So you mean to tell me that while your best friend is sleeping in her truck, you're just here? Some friend," I scoffed.

Jessica's face became a dangerous red and I heard her teeth gnash together.

"First off, Edward, fuck you. You don't know shit about our relationship, so don't go there. Secondly, I offered Bella my own fucking bed, but she wouldn't take it. I'd happily sleep on my own floor knowing that she was safe with me. Lastly, I do help her. I actually got fired from my job at the diner when she came back. I would steal food to give to her and Charlie. I had to beg them to give me another chance, and after promising to pay back what I took in food, they gave me my job back. Bella found out and won't take food from me anymore, so instead I just give it to Charlie, knowing that I'm helping her, too, indirectly."

Wow! I thoroughly felt beyond ashamed. Everyone knew how close she and Bella were, but I doubt anyone, me included until this point, knew how deep their friendship ran.

"Jess, I'm so sorry. I think it was just the shock talking," I said, quickly apologizing for questioning their friendship and making an ass out of myself.

She shrugged in acceptance and we both continued to sit there in silence. I still had a million and two questions to ask and I hoped she was still willing to answer them.

"Who is it that Bella texts during the day? It's the only time I see her smile," I asked, hoping really hard it wasn't a boyfriend.

Jessica smiled widely. "Jacob. Before she left Port Angeles she bought Jacob and herself those pay as you go phones and taught him how to text. The conversations they have are really cute," she answered, smile still in place.

I didn't think I was ever as relieved as I was just then, hearing that she wasn't texting a boyfriend, but her little brother instead.

"You said earlier that you owed it to us to tell me. What did you mean by that?" I asked the next question that had been at the forefront of my mind.

Again, Jessica looked uncomfortable and maybe even a little guilty this time.

"After she moved away, she actually kept asking about you. Like two weeks before the accident happened, she asked me to give you her number. I got distracted though, because later that day Mike called and asked me out. We started going out and I just kept forgetting. Then the whole accident happened. She hadn't brought it up again and neither did I."

Bella was asking for me and wanted my number? I was excited, confused, and pissed all at the same time.

"Bella liked me? How come she never said anything to me in all the years we've known each other?"

"The thing is, Bella can be friendly and very outgoing, but she really is a shy person. She always said that you made her nervous, but at the same time hoped that you would ask her out one day; that's why you never saw her going out with any other guy. She's been in love with you since she first laid eyes on you; at least that's what she once told me," Jessica explained, rolling her eyes at the last part.

Huh?

"Are you serious?" I asked, slack-jawed. It was the first thing I could think of.

Jessica giggled, sighed and then became serious. "Yeah. She's liked you for as long as I've known her. And honestly, I think that if anyone can help her it's you. You probably haven't noticed, but she's already changing."

"What do you mean?"

"The only time she smiled was when she was with family, and on occasion with one day when she was at the diner waiting for me to get off work, and she was sitting in a booth looking into space smiling. Do you wanna know what day that was?"

I nodded desperately. I really wanted to know.

"The day you were assigned her partner for the lab project; that was the first time she smiled, and I mean _really_ smiled, aside from when she talks to Jake."

"So if she likes me then why doesn't she talk to me?" I asked. It came off more as a whine, but I couldn't help it.

"Because, she's still letting the guilt eat away at her. She thinks that she took away Jake's happiness so she thinks she's not entitled to it either."

"Jake's not happy?" He was important to Bella so he was going to become important to me, too.

"Yes… and no. I mean, he's a lot better than what he used to be, as far as I know, but considering everything he's been through, how happy can he really be?" she asked. "But you gotta see him with Bella; the kid loves her to pieces. He _is_ happy when she's around."

All the years that I have "known" Bella I admired what I had seen from afar – her smile, friendliness, intelligence. Everything was just superficial. It wasn't until just this moment that I realized that all these years I ignored her most amazing feature – her heart. I had never heard of someone so giving and selfless. I think I was beginning to fall in love with her.

"How do I get her to talk to me? How do I get close to her?" I begged Jessica to help me.

"The talking part is rough. I really don't know. She only ever says a few words to me and it's never when we're in school. Patience, maybe?" she asked, unsure. "And the key to getting close to her is through Jacob. She was willing to become homeless in order to help Jacob. Inquire about him, but be sincere, she can tell. It's almost like she's the mother hen or something."

I nodded, letting her know that I was listening, absorbing what she was telling me. I was still thinking when I heard Jessica begin to giggle again. I looked up, curious as to what she found so funny.

"Do you have Facebook?" she asked me, still chuckling. I nodded.

"Is Bella your friend?" I shook my head. I was always late in the game when it came to social networking sites. I had jumped on the Facebook train shortly after Bella moved. I always looked her up, but since her page was set on private, I never saw anything. I never did work up the nerve to send her a friend request.

"Well, send her a friend request. She'll accept it, trust me," she said, winking at me as if she heard my inner musing. "When she does accept it, become her neighbor in the Sims game. She loves those games. If she had the time, she would spend hours on them. I guarantee that you'll earn some brownie points with her."

I began chuckling, too. Who would have thought Bella was one of those people who are constantly posting those games achievements and stats on Facebook? I personally found them annoying and just blocked them all from appearing on my page, but I guess I had to unblock The Sims. I was already whipped and she wasn't even my girl.

"How does she have internet access, or a computer, even?" I asked as an afterthought.

"The laptop she uses is he one she's had for years; bought it before she moved to Port Angeles. The shelter she lives at actually has wi-fi. The lady who runs the shelter needed it or something like that. I'm not exactly sure how that works." She shrugged.

I had a lot more questions for Jessica, but it was getting late. We were talking for longer than I realized. Besides, she told me a lot more than I was expecting to hear in the first place. I stood up to leave.

"Thanks for telling me all this, Jess," I said as I stepped out onto her front porch.

"No problem, but please don't tell Bella I told you all this. At least not yet," she begged.

"I won't. I'll see you in school tomorrow."

I said a final goodbye and walked to my car.

Bella had been through a shit load more than I had fathomed. I couldn't blame her for the way she behaved; I couldn't even imagine how I would be.

Despite everything I heard, I felt lighter knowing what I was dealing with. With the information that I had, I could come up with some kind of game plan. However, mission number one was befriending Bella on Facebook and becoming her Sims neighbor.

I didn't even know what the hell The Sims was!

~~0~~

After waiting about three days, Bella finally accepted my friend request. It was a long three days. The day after I had the talk with Jessica, I began to take notice of the things she told me. The next morning, in a futile effort to greet her by her truck, I saw that she had a large garbage bag that was resting in the bed of the truck. It was slightly opened and I could see articles of clothing that she carried around with her. The next day I noticed the scar that Jessica mentioned. She was right when she said it wasn't easily noticeable. It started about an inch above her right eyebrow, slightly curved, and ended where her hairline began.

When I saw the notification in my inbox I was so excited and couldn't wait to log into Facebook. It was late in the evening and I was sitting in my living room, watching TV and unable to fall asleep. No one else was around, but for some reason I wanted the privacy of my room when I was finally able to look at her profile for the first time.

I climbed up the steps quickly, two and three steps at a time. I was so eager to get comfortable on my bed that I tripped over a sneaker that I left in the middle of my room when I had come home from school earlier.

Finally in my bed, I logged into Facebook and quickly clicked on Bella Swan's profile. The first thing I looked at was her profile picture – a wide smile playing on Jacob's face as what looked to be Bella blowing a raspberry on his cheek. Next, I checked out the small amount of general information that was on the top of her page – where she went to school, town she lived in, and things like that. What I really paid attention to was her marital status. According to her profile, she was single.

She didn't have many status updates. As of recently, the only two people that seemed to write on her wall were Jessica and Tanya. According to what Tanya wrote, she was doing great in Sweden but missed Bella a whole lot. Bella commented on that posting, but she didn't comment on many of them. The way it looked was as if she only commented on the post that she felt needed a reply. She did "like" many of them, though. My guess was that she did it so whoever wrote on her wall knew that she at least acknowledged it.

I continued to look through her profile, not caring at all if I came out looking like a stalker or not. I chuckled when I saw that a good majority of the things that Bella posted herself were announcements about game achievements and needs.

The next thing I did was check to see how many friends she had. She had close to 300 friends on her list. I was blown away by the sheer amount of people on her list. There was no way that she knew that many people from Forks. I assumed, though, that she had also made some friends during the short amount of time that she went to Port Angeles High. I quickly scrolled through her list, trying to find anyone I recognized or had as a mutual friend. I was glad that I had recognized most of the people on her list. Many of them still attended Forks High, and some had graduated. I also recognized some people that we went to junior high with and had moved away. However, there were some people that I didn't know at all and figured that these were the people that she met while she lived elsewhere.

Lastly, I went to go look at her pictures. I saved this for last because I wanted to take my time and _really_ look through them. She had multiple albums. She had one from her freshman year, sophomore year, and junior year. Based on the number below each album, she had the least pictures from her junior year. In a weird way, this little piece of information made me happy. If the number of pictures indicated how many picture worthy moments she had last year, then it seemed that she must not have had the best year. However, that way of thinking came crashing down soon when I realized that junior year was when _her_ world came crashing down.

Bella also had some family dedicated albums from various holidays and vacations. Those albums I would look at last. I was eager to look what photos she took the time to upload from freshman and sophomore year.

As I suspected, most of them were pictures of Bella, Jessica, and Tanya. They were always inseparable. There were also pictures of other students in her album. The pictures were varied – some were taken at school dances, trips, outside the school building, in the classroom, and things they did on the weekend. There were even some pictures with my own brother, sister, Rose, and Jasper. More shockingly, there were a few solo shots of me littered here and there.

After I was done looking through the albums that contained pictures of her friends, I went to look through the ones that contained her family. In all the pictures that I looked through, everyone looked happy, even Jacob. There was one picture that was of a young Jacob, maybe three years old, and Bella. She was trying to carry him on her hip, looking down at him while he looked up at her. The way they both smiled at each other was a tell tale sign of how close they were.

I was still amazed ,though, that Bella had some pictures of me in some of her albums. Maybe would could have been considered friends back then, but what about now?

Before I logged off, though, I made sure to install the Sims game and ask her to be my neighbor. When everything was said and done, I was finally ready to log off.

~~0~~

It was a long week and I couldn't be happier that it was Friday. Everyone had plans for the day and throughout the weekend, but I was content to just chill at home the whole time. Because I had to stay after school, by the time I was on my way home, the parking lot was almost completely desolate. When I reached the main part of town, I decided to stop and grab a pizza before heading home. I parked and walked across the street. In the corner of my eye I saw a familiar truck with a familiar looking brunette standing by it. I completely forgot about my pizza and changed my course.

As I was walking up behind her, I heard a strangled noise. To my surprise, it sounded as if she was crying. It stopped me in my tracks and I didn't know how to proceed. I stood stationary, contemplating my next move. I saw her take out her cell phone and frantically dial a number.

"Hello, Dad?" she said when her father finally picked up. It would have been like music to my ears if it wasn't for the fact that she was still crying. The raw pain that was coming from her voice was breaking my heart, but I still made no move to make my presence known.

"I got the food and washed the clothes, but my truck won't start. I've been trying for the past ten minutes," she sobbed, and with every word I felt another crack in my heart. "How am I supposed to get to Jacob tomorrow? And how are they supposed to get the food or clothes?" She continued crying as she listened to her father talk.

"Okay. I'll call him now. I'll see you at home." She hung up the call and hung her head, but I could see her shoulders shaking while she continued to cry. When I finally couldn't take seeing her cry anymore, I walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped, startled, but didn't immediately turn around. From what I could see, it looked as if she was composing herself before she acknowledged me. I saw her wiping her face with her hands, quietly sniffling.

When she finally turned around, she was no longer crying. Her eyes remained red, but not puffy. She looked at me expectantly, but didn't say anything. Her intense stare was making me nervous, but I approached her for a reason.

"Do you need a ride home?" I asked and waited for her response.

**AN: Thanks for reading and I hope you take the time to review. (If you found this story from a rec somewhere please let me know)**

**I created a FB page; finally separating my personal and fan fiction life. If you feel inclined, send me a request at Cruiz FanFiction.**

**Lastly, I'm looking for a beta for m other story, Fighting Our Fate. However, it would be a little different than a typical beta job. If interested, let me know. Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey! Sorry for the looong wait. Hopefully you won't have to wait that long for the next update.**

**Thanks to my beta, ADT216, for fixing this thing up for me.**

**All things Twilight belong to SM.**

Bella looked at me suspiciously, like she was trying to figure out what my motive was. Just like the other times at school, I began feeling uncomfortable under her gaze. I was tempted to just rescind the offer and go about my own business.

We were at what felt like a standoff. She was going to win because I couldn't take the scrutiny anymore.

"Whatever," I mumbled before I turned to head for the pizza shop that brought me to this street in the first place. I hadn't taken three steps when I felt her grab my wrist to stop me. I looked down at her hand and then her eyes.

"I'd appreciate the ride," she whispered. It was low, too low, but I heard every word of it. It was music to my ears. Although there was sadness laced with the four words, I still heard the voice that I was longing to hear.

I nodded my head, keeping my excitement at bay. "No problem. Why don't you just grab your things from the truck and throw them in my backseat," I instructed her. Without speaking another word, she let go of my wrist and returned to her truck to grab her bags. With my help, we transferred her laundry bags and food from her truck to my car.

After we were both strapped in, I waited for her to tell me the address. When I didn't immediately drive off, she looked at me curiously. I could even see the "what the fuck?" question in her eyes.

"I need the address," I explained.

"Oh, yeah. It's...um… 156 Renview Street." She spoke so low I was straining to hear her.

Renview wasn't in a great neighborhood. I wouldn't consider it dangerous, as nothing in this town was dangerous. Really, it was more of an abandoned neighborhood. Rundown apartment buildings littered one side of the street, while condemned houses and ones that were in desperate need of some kind of restoration settled on the other.

The short drive was obviously silent. I had a small tinge of hope that since she had spoken to me she would speak again. My hopes were finally dashed when we reached the designated address.

I was as impressed by the house as one could be when referring to a homeless shelter. It was a small two story clapboard house. The white paint was badly chipping and it looked like the roof could use some maintenance. The lawn was manicured but still had some small brown patches here and there. As much help as this small little house needed, I would still have to say that it was one of the better looking houses.

"Do you need help with your stuff?" I asked, hoping that maybe I could get some more verbal communication.

She shook her head no while taking out her cell phone and texting someone. In no time at all, I saw a man step out of the house that she called home. Even though I hadn't seen him in a while, even before they moved away, I recognized her father immediately. He and Bella looked so much alike, the similarity was easy to spot.

I never formally introduced myself to him even though his daughter and I have been going to school together for years. I didn't know much about him except that he worked in the lumber yard. Strictly based on the sacrifices he recently made, I now knew he was a family man.

Bella hopped out the car when she saw her father approaching. Not wanting to be rude, I stepped out of the car to introduce myself to Bella's father.

"Hi, Mr. Swan. I'm Edward Cullen.I go to school with Bella. I saw that she was having car trouble so I offered her a lift." I reached out my hand to shake his. I couldn't be certain, but I could almost swear that something close to fear reflected in his eyes for a second.

"We really appreciate that, Edward. Please, call me Charlie," he responded while taking my hand.

I helped them take the few things Bella had and brought them to the front porch as I saw them do. When my backseat was empty, I decided it was probably best to leave. Because they didn't make a move to actually bring the bags inside the house, I assumed they were waiting for me to drive off first.

"I'll see you in school, Bella," I said to her as she stood on the porch. She nodded but didn't offer anything more.

"Charlie, it was nice to finally meet you. I'll see you around."

When I began making my way over to my car, I heard Charlie shout my name.

"You're Dr. Cullen's boy, right?" he asked. I nodded yes. "Can you just let him know that I didn't intend to skip out on my bill? I didn't think four stitches would cost so much and right now it's just a little hard, with money. I'm saving, though, to pay the bill. I know it's already past due, but I really am trying."

I was stunned, to say the least, and had no idea why he was telling me all this. Was this why he looked so worried before? Because he thought I was going to mention he defaulted on his hospital bill?

Charlie was a tall guy, standing at about 6'5 or so. He looked like a strong, intimidating man by appearance alone. He probably would have made a good cop. However, at this moment he looked like a young boy apologizing after being scolded for not picking up his toys.

"Oh, uh…I'll talk to my dad. Don't worry about it." I tried to reassure him, but I had no clue what he was talking about. I didn't think my dad would either since he wasn't the one in charge of billing.

"Thank you. And thank you for giving Bella a ride, we both appreciate it."

"Well, you're both welcome. It was nice to finally get her in my car," I began to speak before I realized what I was saying. "That's not what I meant. I would have taken her even if I didn't have my own car. No, wait, I didn't mean that either." I stopped talking when Charlie began laughing.

"I know what you mean, son."

"Right. I'm just gonna go now," I said while pointing to my car. With a final wave to Charlie and Bella, I got in my car and got the hell out of there.

I spent the ride home thinking of some way that I could help Bella. It wasn't until I pulled into my driveway and saw Bella's keys on the floorboard that it finally hit me. There was one person who could help Bella out right now. But first, I had to talk to my father.

It took longer than usual to get home. While completely lost in my own thoughts, I actually made a wrong turn.

I walked into a fairly quiet house, the only sound coming from a television upstairs – probably Emmett's room.

"Dad?" I shouted, unsure if he was even home. Though he would go weeks without taking a day off, he always tried to make it home before sunset.

"Yes," he answered, emerging from the kitchen with a sandwich resting on a plate. I looked at it curiously.

"Didn't Mom cook?" I asked. I was too distracted when I walked in to notice, but the house didn't smell like anything was cooking, like it usually did around this time.

"No. An old college friend of hers is staying in Seattle for the weekend so they met up for lunch and shopping. Did you need something?" He took a bite and walked right by me, not waiting for me to answer. I quickly followed behind him.

"Yeah. Do you handle the billing for the hospital?"

He looked at me baffled, and quite honestly, like I was stupid.

"No. Every so often I'm asked to look at the hospital's finances and give my opinion on where we could cut some spending, but that's about it. I'm not responsible for directly billing patients. Why do you ask?"

"You know my friend, Bella Swan?" It felt good calling her my friend although we were probably far from it.

"Yes. She was actually a frequent visitor when she was younger. Clumsy little thing," he chuckled.

I remembered her lack of grace while growing up. It seemed like every few weeks she came in with something stitched, braced, or bruised.

"What about her father?"

"Charlie? I know him. We went for drinks a few times. Good guy. What about him?"

"You know Charlie?" I asked, flabbergasted. How was it possible that my own father hung out with Bella's father and I never knew it?

"Don't look at me like that. It's a small town, Edward. What about him, anyway?"

I recovered from the betrayal I felt. "Was he in the hospital a while back?"

He let out a sigh. "Yeah, a few months ago, I believe. Why?"

"When I dropped Bella off today, he mentioned something about a bill that was still outstanding. He told me to tell you that he isn't trying to skip out on it or anything – says he's saving or something."

Instead of responding right away, he shook his head.

"Tell him not to worry about it; it's already taken care of. As a matter of fact, give him my number the next time you see him," Carlisle responded.

"What do you mean?" I didn't understand. Did my father pay the bill?

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm going to pay for it." He quirked an eyebrow at me, silently asking if I was going to question or challenge him about it.

I was.

"Anyway why would you do that?" I asked slowly. "What do you know?"

"Probably just as much as you do, but only longer."

"How?" I was dumbfounded…again. Apparently, my father knew for awhile what I just recently found out.

"Like I said, it's a small town. I'm surprised you didn't know sooner. Besides, I told you Bella and her mother came into the hospital that day. I'm not as good of friends with her mother as Esme is, but we talk. She pulled me aside and told me the gist of the situation and asked me to look after Charlie and Bella if they ever came into the hospital." I could see the sadness in my father's eyes – a look he could usually control. After years of practicing medicine, he learned to rein in his emotions, but he couldn't do it when it came to the Swan family.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" I shouted at him, angry that he never told me any of this before.

"First off, lower your voice. You want to talk, then talk. Don't shout at me like I'm one of your friends," he said sternly, pointing his finger in my face. I huffed in annoyance, and somewhat ashamed of my behavior toward my father who had been nothing but informative. I nodded my head.

"Secondly, it's none of your damn business. If Bella wanted to tell you that's one thing, but who are you to know what was said to _me_ by someone else in confidence?"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm just…I dunno. This is just so messed up," I said, grabbing my hair by the roots and tugging. I was lost and I didn't even know how to find my way back.

"It's alright. Let me just offer you this little bit of advice. Now that you know what Bella is going through, don't treat her any differently. She's strong and doesn't need anyone's pity. If she wanted it, she would have broadcasted information up and down the streets. Don't assume she can't take care of herself, because she's doing a great job of it already."

I gave my father a small smile and nod of appreciation. This was just too much too soon. I didn't pity Bella, but I planned on helping her every which way I could.

~~0~~

"Hey, Em," I said, knocking on his door and entering at the same time. I looked toward his bed and saw the person I was hoping to find. Rosalie was lying on Emmett's bed with her bare feet resting flat against the wall.

"What's the point of knocking if you're not going to even wait for an answer," Emmett said while staring at his iTunes playlists on his laptop.

"Yeah, sorry, my fault," I quickly apologized. "Rose, can I borrow you?"

This got the attention of both of them, finally turning to look at me.

"What the hell do you want to "borrow" my girlfriend for?" Emmett asked, giving me the stink eye. I looked to Rosalie who was now sitting on her haunches, narrowing her eyes at me. I rolled my eyes at both of them.

"I just need help with a car."

"What's wrong with your car? You were just driving it."

"I didn't say _my_ car. I said _a_ car."

"Who's car?" they both asked at the same time.

"Does it matter?"

"Maybe," Rosalie said. "I'm not going to go fix just anyone's car."

I sighed, not really wanting to tell her whose car just yet. I was hoping to get her there first, leaving her no choice but to fix it, but the way she was looking at me told me that she wasn't budging until I told her.

"Bella's?" I replied in the form of a question.

Emmett quirked an eyebrow at me and Rose looked at me like I was an idiot. It was actually a look I was getting tired of receiving. On the contrary, I was a very intelligent person.

"Wait a second. Bella? As in Bella Swan?" Emmett asked.

"Yes Bella, as in Bella Swan. Something is wrong with her truck and you know I don't know shit about cars," I answered Em's question but turned to Rosalie.

"Why the hell would I help her?" she asked, like it was the dumbest thing I could ever ask. "She's stuck up and rude. I don't give a crap about her and I'm not going to start now because you've rekindled this little crush you have on her."

I understood where she was coming from, but I was frustrated anyway. How was I supposed to get Rosalie to understand without telling her about Bella's situation?

"What if I pay you?" Money had to be the answer and the interested look on her face told me I was right.

"How much?"

"I dunno. it depends on what's wrong with it. I'm not gonna pay you if all her truck needed was gas."

She thought for a minute. "Alright. How about this? I get twenty just for making the trip and then we'll talk about the rest when I see the abysmal thing she calls a vehicle."

"Fair enough."

She smiled and held out her hand. I rolled my eyes and turned to leave. "We're leaving now so hurry the hell up.

I grabbed my wallet and car keys from my room and went downstairs where Emmett and Rosalie were already waiting.

"I'm not getting in that car until you put a Jackson in my hand." She stood in front of the door with her arms crossed over her chest. Rolling my eyes once again, I reached into my wallet and pulled out two tens.

She gave me a smirk, snatched the two bills and walked out the door.

We got to the street where Bella's truck was and I parked behind it. The sun was beginning to set and I knew that Rosalie had little time before it would be difficult to look at the truck without a flashlight, something that I didn't think to bring.

"We gotta hurry, unless you have a flashlight in your bag," I said, trying to usher them along.

"Relax, Ed." Rosalie shook her head and stepped out of the car. "I can't believe she actually drives this," she continued as she walked to the hood of the car. "Pop it," she said, referring to the hood.

I opened the driver's side door and did as I was told.

"How do you even have the keys to her car?" Emmett asked, opening the passenger side door and exploring the inside of the car.

"She left them in my car so…" I trailed off.

"Hmm," he said absentmindedly, engrossed in the papers that were in the glove compartment.

"Put that shit back. What the hell are you doing?" I reached over and snatched the papers from his hand. A small slip of paper fell onto the passenger seat.

"Ohh, what's this?" Emmett asked, smiling while scooping down to retrieve the creased, white paper. His smile fell.

"What?" I asked, curious.

"I think Bella has a boyfriend. Look." He handed me he slip.

On the paper was the name Marcus with his number scribbled underneath. Who the hell was Marcus and why had he given his number to Bella? Better yet, why the hell had she accepted it?

Quickly realizing that she wasn't my girlfriend, and not to mention that I didn't even know if she was even my friend, I reined in my jealousy.

"I dunno," I said, trying to play it cool. "Probably just some guy – a friend." I was quick to add the friend part, mostly to comfort myself.

"Mmhm," Emmett replied. I looked up to him from the paper and saw the knowing smirk in place.

"Screw you," I retorted. "And stop going through her stuff," I add roughly. I snatched the rest of her belongings that he scattered on the dashboard and stuffed them back in the glove compartment.

"Hey, Edward, turn the car on for me," Rosalie shouted, still standing in front of the truck. I reached into my pocket for the keys, put them in the ignition and tried starting it up. Nothing. I tried again, and still nothing.

Rosalie came around from the front. "The engine actually looks to be in great shape. Nothing looks out of place or in need of replacement. My guess is that she just needs a new battery. If that is the case, I suggest she go down to the rez and buy one there - it's cheaper. Newton's charges an arm and a leg for _everything_." I nodded in agreement. I tried to avoid shopping at Newton's Auto at all cost. They took advantage of the fact that they were the only auto parts store in Forks.

I trusted Rosalie's diagnosis, as she knew more about cars than anyone I knew. However, even though the truck was simply in need of new battery, it wasn't something that Bella could take care of herself. I was hoping that whatever was wrong with her vehicle was something that could be fixed on the spot. I should have realized that a simple and quick solution was never the case when it came to cars.

"So what now?" Emmett asked. "Are you going to call Bella and let her know?" It was an innocent question, but it still caused my heart to ache for someone who may, or may not, even want to talk to me, and I didn't know how to answer him.

"Let me guess," Rosalie interrupted. "You're going to buy her battery for her, aren't you?" She wasn't amused. "You trying to buy her or something?"

How do I answer that? It wasn't as if I could say "No, Rose. I'm buying it because she can barely afford lunch and she needs a way to go visit her little brother, who's basically deaf by the way, and her mom."

"No, I'm not trying to buy her. She's my friend," I lied. "I would do the same thing for you," I lied again.

"I call bullshit," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Are you two even really friends?" She looked at me expectantly. She had me and she knew it.

"Let's go," I said abruptly, no longer in the mood to deal with her. Bella and I probably wouldn't be considered friends, but I was working on that. I didn't need Rosalie around, reminding me that Bella wasn't even giving me the time of day. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for her need to visit Jacob, she wouldn't have spoken the only few words she had.

"Oh yeah, well how are you going to install the battery if I go home? I am assuming that _you_ are the one who is going to install it, and not Bella?"

I swear, if she smirked one more time…

"I'm not that damn incompetent; I can install a battery," I retorted.

She finally straightened out her facial expression to a more neutral look – her cockiness gone.

"Look, I'll help, but for _you_, not Bella. I don't know what you're striving for, but you better get it after going through all this trouble for someone who isn't going to appreciate it." She shook her head and walked back to my car – settling in the front seat.

"I hate to admit it," Emmett began when he was sure Rosalie couldn't hear," but she's right. What makes you think that Bella is even going to appreciate what you're doing for her? I mean, she does seem kind of stuck up this year."

I couldn't explain it to him, but I knew that Bella would appreciate it. "I understand what you guys are saying, but trust me, I've got to do this for her. It's more than just fixing her truck. She needs…" I was close to mentioning Jacob, but stopped myself when I realized where I was heading.

"Let's just go." I turned before he could respond. The day was coming to a close and I needed to get to La Push before the garage closed.

Half hour later we were at Black's garage. It was quiet in and around the garage and I hoped that I wasn't too late. I jogged up to the front door, hoping that it wasn't locked, while Emmett and Rosalie stood outside of the car. Fortunately, it wasn't. I saw Quil, the same man who worked on Emmett's car, standing behind the front counter, counting money that I assumed came from the open register draw.

"Hey, are you closed?"

He looked at me for a second before answering. "You're the doctor's son, right?" I nodded in confirmation. "Well, technically I am closed, but if you make it quick I can help you. It's my daughter's birthday today." He had a bright smile on his face and I couldn't help but remember her emergency that brought her to my dad's hospital.

"Thanks so much. I need a battery for a truck. You might know it, actually – Bella Swan's red truck?" I remembered Jessica telling me that this was where she got the truck in the first place.

Quil's smile slowly faltered, until he was wearing a complete frown. "Is she here?" he asked, looking over my shoulder.

"No." I have no idea why, I looked over my shoulder, too, to make sure I wasn't lying.

"Are you her boyfriend, or something?" His tone became very protective all of a sudden, taking me off guard.

"No, just a friend, I guess."

He nodded in response, but didn't ask any more questions about Bella. "So you needed a battery for the truck?"

"Yeah. According to my friend, the engine looks great, but it just needs a new battery."

His smiled returned quickly. "I worked on that truck myself," he said, jabbing his chest with his thumb. "Gimme a sec for the battery. I think I have one in the garage."

I waited around while he retrieved the battery, trying to guess how much this was going to run me. He returned a few minutes later, battery in hand.

"Here you go, take it." He handed the battery over to me, not mentioning a price.

"Thanks, how much do I owe you?" With my free hand I reached into my back pocket for my wallet.

He sighed. "Nothing, as long as you can do me a favor in return." His tone was very serious, as was his facial expression.

I had no idea what I could do for this man that would warrant a free car battery, but I was curious nonetheless.

"And what would that be?"

"Relay a message to Bella for me." Now he really had my undivided attention. "Tell her the people of La Push want to see her; we miss her. She…" He trailed off, never finishing his last sentence, but I could see the mist building in his eyes.

"I will," I said softly. The situation was a little uncomfortable. Not only did I not like to see grown men cry, but he was seemingly crying over Bella. Did he know her living situation and that was why he was about to cry? Or was it because of Jacob, the more logical explanation?

"I want to install the battery before it gets completely dark. Thanks again and…I'll tell Bella what you said. Oh, and happy birthday to your daughter." I finally excused myself from the small shop, needing to get away quickly.

As I walked back to my car, I couldn't help but replay what occurred inside a few seconds ago. At the rate new questions were forming about things and people in her life, I would never get to know her.

**AN: Thanks for reading!**

**If you have the time, go check out my new o/s, A Pilot's Promise, that I wrote for FAGE. The banner is also on my profile.**

**I signed up to write a o/s for Fandom Fight Against Juvenile Diabetes. I started a o/s that contains some J/B/E action. Donating it will give me a reason to finish it.**

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	6. Chapter 6

**AN: A HUUUGE apology for the long delay. It's kind of a long story, but if you read the last chapter of Make or Break Me, I explain it there. Without further ado…**

**All things Twilight belong to SM**

It was only eight in the morning, and I was on my way to see Bella. After I installed the battery, I had driven the truck and parked it at the corner of Renview while I had Emmett drive my own car.

I didn't know how shelters worked. I didn't know if she had to be out by a certain time or if she was able to hang out there all day. Not only that, I didn't know if she still planned on making the trip to Port Angeles today since she believed she was still without transportation.

When I arrived, I looked at the clock on my dashboard and realized it was only eight thirty. Was it too early? Taking a chance, I turned my car off and began walking up to the front porch.

It seemed like it was dilemma after dilemma. Do I knock, ring the bell, or just walk in? I guess, technically, it was a house, but it wasn't as if it just housed one family. I had no idea how crowded, or empty, the place would be.

I decided that knocking was probably my best bet. I lifted my hand to knock, but let it hang there before I actually did. I was nervous, that was for sure. I didn't know what I was walking into and that had me on edge. It would be one thing if I was only Bella and Charlie in there, but that wasn't the case.

I hated to think this way, but I just couldn't help it. What if the people in there were dangerous? Defensive over someone they thought was threatening? And if that was true, Bella and Charlie shouldn't be around people like that, though they didn't have a choice.

Deciding I was over thinking things, I quickly wrapped on the door and waited a few seconds. Nothing. Again. Nothing. Slight worry started to wash over me. Hoping that I wouldn't get Bella, Charlie, or myself in trouble, I open the door. To my surprise it was unlocked. I let myself in. When I rounded the corner, I could see a group of people gathered in an area that I guess could pass as some kind of living room.

I didn't recognize anyone there and continued my search for Bella and Charlie. As I looked in the rooms, I became impressed, for lack of a better term, with what I saw. I guess I was expecting to see a gymnasium setting, despite this being a house, with rows of cots lined up. However, this place looked more like a boarding house. There was even a decent looking kitchen, though nothing was cooking. There were people littered in the hallway with bags lined up against the wall and doors.

I ascended the stairs hoping that maybe I would find Bella up that way. I didn't have to look long because before I was even at the top step I heard Charlie.

"Don't worry about me. I was able to nab another shift today. Maybe Marcus can give you a ride up there. Give 'em a call."

Marcus? The same Marcus that was on that paper? I didn't know who he was, but he sure as hell wasn't taking her anywhere. I cleared my throat to let them know I was there. They both snapped their necks in my direction. Bella looked momentarily shocked, but corrected that quickly. She narrowed her eyes and me and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Edward?" Charlie asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Morning," I greeted both of them, but kept my gaze on Charlie; I couldn't look at Bella with the way she was glaring at me – it made me nervous. "I…fixed…well, a friend helped me fix Bella's truck. It's downstairs if she still plans on driving to Port Angeles." I felt like her eyes were burning a hole through my forehead and I had a great urge to say "fuck it" and turn around.

"Oh, well, isn't that nice, honey?" Charlie asked Bella, nudging her shoulder with his elbow. She turned her glare to him, but he seemed unfazed. I wish I had his courage!

"Thanks, Edward, _we_ appreciate it," he told me.

"Here you go." I dug into my pockets to hand over the keys. I didn't know who to hand them over to as no one held their hand out to take them. My arm remained outstretched while the keys dangled in the air. Suddenly, Bella's arm shot out and snatched the keys from me. Once they were safely in her hand, she dashed past me, shoulder checking me on her way out. It didn't hurt, but it did stun me.

I looked back at her retreating form then back to Charlie, who shook his head at me.

"I don't know what her problem is," he offered. "But we really do appreciate it. She may not show it, or say it, but she's grateful. That truck is what helps keep us going. I just wish…" he trailed off, but never finished.

"Don't worry about it; I'm still learning how to deal with her mood swings." Charlie laughed. "I'm gonna go. It's early, and frankly, I could still use a few more hours of sleep."

"Yeah, so could I," he answered, wistfully. It was kind of sad. I could only imagine what it was like sleeping in an unfamiliar bed – not knowing if you would even sleep in a bed at night. I wished there was more that I could do for them.

I gave Charlie a two finger wave and began toward the stairs again.

"Oh, wait," I called before began going down the steps. I turned to see Charlie turning back as well. "I talked to my dad about your hospital bill." His eyes widened and he visibly blanched. "He said not to worry about it – it's taken care of." He was about to say something, but I cut him off. I could only imagine what he was going to say, probably protest. "He wants you to give him a call to hang out or something. He said it would be good to see you again. Do you have a pen or something?"

He tapped his head with his finger. "Just give it to me; I got a good memory." I smiled weakly and recited the number I knew by heart. I hoped that Charlie would call Carlisle. They'd have fun together and it would probably be a good escape for Charlie.

"Thanks…and I'll talk to Bella for ya. Find out what's eating her."

I thanked him and turned to leave again. As I was getting into my car, I saw Bella throw some bags into the back of her truck, rather angrily. Sighing and shaking my head, I turned my car on and drove off. Stopping at the stop sign at the corner, where her truck was parked, I chanced a look in her direction. She caught me looking and threw me one of her famous glares. I drove off a second later.

On the drive home, I couldn't help but wonder what her problem was this time. _I_ went out of _my_ way to help _her_ so she could visit Jacob and her mom and she acted like I was a pain in her ass. I kept telling myself yesterday that I knew she would appreciate the gesture even if she didn't show it, but I was not expecting her reaction at all. Shit, even a small smile would have sufficed. Or a text message so she wouldn't have to talk to me directly, but nothing.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I hated to admit it, but it seemed like Rosalie was right. Not only did Bella not seem to appreciate shit that I did for her, but she was outright nasty about it. I didn't know what I was doing wrong. At every turn she scowled at me.

I think I was there – the "fuck it" point. I tried. Maybe it wasn't hard enough or long enough, but I don't know what she expected of me. She wouldn't even fucking talk to me! And how the hell are you supposed to help someone when they won't utter a word to you.

I was done. If she wanted help, or whatever, then she would have to come to me.

It was amazing how in the short ten, fifteen minute drive home, I became so angry that I was fuming. As much as I wanted to just forget about Bella, two things were holding me back. The first thing was that we still had two weeks worth of project work we had to do together. Secondly, I just couldn't stop thinking about her.

With me being the idiot that I am, I logged on to Facebook to see if she had posted anything recently. Luckily, she hadn't. If I had to read some stupid shit she had written I think I would have really lost it. Because it was too early to be so pissed off at a chick, I began heading to my room to sleep for a few more hours.

~0~

I woke up two hours later to the chime of my cell phone, indicating that I had a text message. Groggily, I reached over to grab my phone off the nightstand. I wasn't fully awake which made reading the message hard. I tried rubbing the sleep from my eyes so the words on my screen wouldn't appear as a blurry mess.

I brought the phone up to my face again trying to read who the message was from. I quickly sat up when I saw Bella's name as the sender.

**You had no right to do that – B**

What the fuck? No right to do what? Help her?

**What the hell are you talking about? – E**

**Fixing my car. Are you trying to make me feel shittier about myself? I don't need your help for that! – B **

**Again, what the hell are you talking about? You needed to get to PA and your truck wasn't working. A thank you would have worked for me. – E **

**A thank you? For what? All you did was add something else to the list of things I can't afford. How am I supposed to pay you back? – B **

Was she serious? If she gave me the chance to tell to her, then she would have known she didn't owe me anything. I couldn't believe that she was mad over something so dumb.

**I never said you had to pay me back. I didn't spend a dime. I got the battery over La Push. Quil told me to relay a message to you BTW. – E **

I accidently sent the message before I finished the whole thing. As I was in the middle of the second part of the message I got a text from Bella.

**WHAT? – B **

**WHAT what? – E **

Seriously, what _was_ her problem?

**Don't you EVER talk about me to anyone over at La Push! This conversation is over. – B **

**~0~**

Monday came way too fast for my liking. It was weird, though, because it wasn't like I spent the weekend having fun or anything remotely exciting. I spent the weekend stewing in my own bitterness over Bella. There was a war raging in my head, with no victor in sight.

I really was over all of her bullshit. She was ungrateful and unappreciative. I get that she wasn't the talking type, but really, there were other ways to say thank you.

However,a small part of me still felt slightly bad for her. I got the fact that she was in a predicament that no one deserves, but c'mon. My father was the one who made the promise to look after the Swans, not me. I did what I could, went out of my way for her. The fact that she was in such a bad place at such an important time in her life was the only reason, I think, that I haven't completely blown her off, yet. But I was getting there.

Apparently, Jessica was her friend, not me.

By the time I found a spot and put my car in park, half the the lot was already full. Alice and Emmett had come in early to work on their biology project in school, so I was on my own. The final projects were due in two weeks, before school let out for Thanksgiving. Luckily, Bella and I were basically done. The only thing left for us to do was to put our information into presentation form. We had agreed a few weeks back that I would construct a diagram of DNA strands and genes while she would type out the report that needed to be handed in.

I wasn't sure exactly how we were supposed to do it, but each pair of students was to present their project in front of the rest of the class. I wasn't opposed to doing it as I was really proud of our work, but obviously, Bella had the problem. That was exactly it; it was _her_ problem. Since I was done helping her, this was a dilemma that she had to figure out for herself. I would only make it my problem if it affected my grade, because it would be unfair if it did.

Finally stepping out of my car and heading toward the school, I was confronted by an angry-looking Jessica. It obviously had to with Bella since we really never talked much about anything else.

I walked passed her, not acting like I didn't see her, but just blatantly ignoring her. I could hear her scurrying behind me. When she was right beside me, she was able to keep pace with me even though I picked mine up.

"You know we need to talk," she said.

"No, I didn't and no we don't." She huffed next to me.

"Fine, don't talk to me, but I'll find out what you did to piss her off." _That_ got me to finally stop.

"What _I_ did?" I chuckled humorlessly. "Is that what she told you? That I did something wrong?" Jessica crossed her arms over her chest, challengingly, and waited for me to continue.

"You know what? You're right. I did do something wrong – I tried to be her friend when everyone else in this school thinks she's a total bitch. Tell her not to worry about me. Once this project is done, so am I."

Jessica's face fell, not expecting me to come off the way I did. I didn't even bother to wait for a retort. All she was going to do was defend Bella without knowing all the facts and I didn't want to hear some stupid reason as to why Bella acted the way she did.

The morning went by fairly quickly. It seemed like all the teachers were trying to fit in last minute projects before the quarter was up. On the work front, the busy morning sucked, but on the flip side, it kept me from thinking about Bella…or thinking about _not_ thinking about her, especially during our first period together.

Someone was on my side during lunch as well. Bella wasn't in the cafeteria and neither was Jessica, who was being a pain in my ass every time our paths crossed in the hallway. I could honestly say that I was relieved that Bella wasn't around. Everyone was at the table, deciding that enough of their work was done in the morning hour.

I just had to get through biology and I would be home free for the day, at least. My only saving grace was that I had my friends in the class as well, and they would hopefully be great distractions.

We all walked to class together, slowly, wanting to delay the inevitable. Walking into class, I saw that Bella was already sitting at our table, doodling in her notebook. I slowed my pace, not at all eager to be close to her. Maybe it was wrong on my part, but just seeing her pissed me off.

When I finally sat down, I saw her stall for a moment before quickly recovering. She just sat there, acting as if she hadn't done anything wrong. Unsurprisingly, it just irritated me even more.

When Mr. Banner finally arrived, he announced that instead of the scheduled lecture, the class period when be spent watching a film while he caught up on grading tests.

Whatever!

As the lights went out and the movie began, so did the small conversations within the class. I was avoiding Bella at all cost. I didn't try engaging her in conversation, not that she would participate anyway. However, I couldn't help but sneak glances at her every so often.

About fifteen minutes into the movie, I saw Bella grab her iPod, putting her ear buds in place. For some unbeknownst reason, that innocent action did me in and I ripped the right ear bud out before she could even turn the player on. She looked at me, shocked, before that look turned into anger. For a split second it even looked like she was about to say something, but I was too mad to even care.

"What the hell is your problem?" I asked but didn't let her answer – not that she would. "I've been nothing but nice to you. Do you realize some of the shit people are saying about you? But me? I've been nothing but nice to you, trying to become your friend and you treat me like shit. I'm over it. When this project is over, one of us has to find a new seat." I threw the ear bud, so worked up that I didn't even realize it was still in my hand.

I turned forward in my seat, frustrated and breathing hard from anger.

Another few minutes into the movie, that I wasn't really watching, I heard sniffling. There was no way it was coming from Bella. Curious, I glanced at her just in time to see her wiping away a tear. I groaned silently to myself. I hated when people cried. It was just awkward. Even worse was the fact that I was the one who made her cry.

I felt bad for a second, but I had to remind myself that I really hadn't said anything bad. I just spoke the truth. Even still, I felt bad for making her cry, but I still wasn't going to apologize.

Thankfully, it seemed like she was trying to control the sounds she was emanating, selfishly making me feel a lot more comfortable.

The movie finished not too soon enough after. The credits began rolling and the lights weren't even flickered back on, but Bella was out of her seat. Alice looked back at me when she saw Bella fly out the door. I shrugged in response. It also reminded me that no one knew what happened this past weekend.

The rest of the afternoon was spent much like the morning which, again, didn't leave me much time to ponder about what occurred with Bella during biology. When the last bell of the day sounded, I was more than ready to get home. I was tired both physically and mentally. Fortunately, I wouldn't have to wait around for anyone else and could just go straight home.

The parking lot was full of eager students wanting to get home, just like me. Somehow, despite the hoards of people, Jessica seemed to spot me easily. I tried to ignore her, like I'd been doing all day, but she wasn't having it this time. She grabbed my bicep and gripped it, pretty hard I must say, and prevented me from passing her.

"We need to talk," she gritted out.

"What I do this time?" I asked, probably already knowing the answer.

"Let's walk to your car."

"Do I have a choice in the matter?"

"No."

"Then lead the way, stalker." I outstretched my free arm, gesturing for her to continue. She narrowed her eyes at me, but let go of my arm and headed toward the direction of my car.

"So what's up?" I asked when we were both seated in my car. Part of me was curious as to what she knew, what Bella told her, and part of me just wanted to get this over with.

Jessica scowled at me, but began anyway. "What the fuck is your problem? What the hell did Bella ever do to you to warrant you making her cry?" She was angry – livid, actually. But then again, so was I.

"She's your best friend; I get that, but before you come at me like that, make sure you get both sides of the story. Did I make her cry? Yeah, but that was never my intention. I spoke the truth and she didn't like it."

"Enlighten me." She sounded bored, as if I wasn't about to tell her something new.

"In a nutshell, she's ungrateful. I go out of my way to help her and what do I get in return? Nothing! I don't want a huge fanfare or anything, but she can't even spare a motherfucking smile. And even with all that I have to pretend like everything's cool? Fuck. That," I ranted.

If someone heard the way I was speaking right now, I'd bet they'd be highly surprised that I was referring to a girl that, despite how angry I was at her, I was still infatuated with her.

Jessica rubbed her hands over her face, aggressively, while groaning into her palms. She then balled her hands into a fist and punched the dashboard.

"What the hell?" I asked, only slightly angry at the action because really, it didn't look like she punched it too hard.

"Shut up, Cullen," she said, sounding a bit more common than she looked a second ago. "Just tell me what happened that broke the camel's back?"

Huffing, I described exactly what happened this past weekend. I tried to keep my voice even, not wanting to sound like I was exaggerating any part of it. Jessica nodded at the appropriate times and actually seemed like she was listening instead of trying to think of an excuse for her best friend's actions.

"Okay, look, that was kind of messed up on her part. Some kind of thanks is in order, but you gotta understand-"

I groaned, cutting her off, not wanting to hear how I should just forgive Bella for the way she acted.

"God, you're such an asshole. Good looks can only get you so far in life, and right now that's all you have going for since you're being a dickhead. Now shut it and let me talk." She kept quiet, testing me to see if I was, in fact, going to let her talk. I waved my head for her to continue and she rolled her eyes at me.

"Now, as I already said," she began dramatically. "Yes, she should have said thank you, but on top of the shit storm that is already Bella's life, more was just added to it. Everything is okay now, but it wasn't these past few weeks. I don't even know why I'm telling you all this," she said more to herself than me.

"On Friday, she was supposed to work, but she got a call right before she was scheduled to start. A customer came in claiming hat Bella ruined her clothes. Her boss told her not to come in; basically she was fired for something she didn't do. Charlie talked to Bella's boss and arranged for them to pay for the ruined clothes in exchange for Bella's job back. It's setting them back about two hundred fifty."

Jessica was on the verge of tears for her friend and I couldn't help feeling bad for her myself. It really did seem like the worst was never bad enough for Bella.

"Bella knew that she was going to need a new battery soon and it just came at the wrong moment. On Saturday she didn't know if she had a job or not so the last thing she needed was thinking about how she was going to pay you back. Trust me, the last thing Bella is, is ungrateful."

Shit! I guess that all made sense. But in my defense, I told her that I wasn't expecting repayment.

"So how is she supposed to pay them back?" I asked.

"They're going to take however much out of her check until it's all paid back."

"I am a dick, aren't I?"

Jessica chuckled lightly. "You can be at times when you don't listen." There was a pause and somehow I knew there was more.

"I'm sensing…something. What aren't you telling me?" I asked, while looking out the windshield, beating her to the punch. After a few seconds passed and she still hadn't responded, I looked in her direction. She was looking out the windshield also, a lone tear streaking her cheek.

"What's going on?" I asked cautiously.

"You have to promise me something. Whether you and Bella become friends, more than friends, or nothing at all I need you to keep this promise to me."

She was serious and another few tears slipped as she talked. I nodded my head, agreeing to something I had no idea of.

"I need you to watch over Bella. I need you to be the friend that I can't be anymore," she whispered.

"What are talking about?" To say I was confused was an understatement.

"My grandmother, my mom's mom, is sick. Dying, actually, and my mom wants to be closer so we're moving to Arizona."

I was stunned…stunned into silence. Funny enough, all I could think about was Bella. Jessica and I were never close or even friends. Acquaintances, maybe. It sucked that she was moving away, but in reality, it didn't affect me all that much. Except when it came to helping me with Bella.

Bella…

"Does Bella know?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I knew for awhile that it was a possibility, but I didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure. I'm scared to tell her. First Tanya and now me? She's going to think everyone is bailing on her." She was crying a little heavier. I let her cry, learning from my mother that sometimes girls didn't want to hear that everything was going to be okay. It was awkward, but I really didn't know what to do.

"That's why I need you to promise me you'll be there for her. She doesn't know it yet, but you're good for her. I'm one of her best friends and I know these things."

I nodded in agreement. I didn't know how I was going to do it, or how it would work out, but I was going to keep this promise to Jessica…and to Bella.

"When are you leaving?"

"The Friday after Thanksgiving," she said lowly.

"What is your family doing Thanksgiving day?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "We already started packing and I don't see my mom making this huge meal the day before we leave."

I thought about everything Jessica just told me. It was a lot to take in. It felt like whenever Bella was involved, it was a lot to take in. Jessica interrupted my thoughts with her sniffling.

"Hey," I said, offering her a small smile. "Why don't you see if your family wants to come over to my house for Thanksgiving? My mom gets off on dinner parties and I'm sure she knows your mother," I offered. Hopefully, Esme wouldn't be pissed if I invited three extra people.

Jessica beamed at me. "Yeah?"

"Sure. I'll tell my mom when I get home. As a matter of fact, I'll call her now."

I pulled out my phone and pressed speed dial number two for my mom. She picked up after three rings. "Hey, honey. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hi, Ma. I just wanted to know if it'd be okay if the Stanley's came over for Thanksgiving dinner. I kind of already invited them."

There was a rustling on the other end of the line. "Sorry, dropped my pen. Anyway, sure that's great. The more the merrier. Cooking for nine is the same as cooking for twelve."

I did quick math in my head. "Nine? What nine?" I asked confused.

"The Swans are having Thanksgiving with us, too."

**AN: Thanks for reading and I again apologize for the huge delay.**

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